The Pact
by CM-Reider
Summary: AU story. 14 year old Spencer Reid has been in foster care for 6 years. He and his friends have a plan for escape from their abusive homes. But at what cost? The BAU is on the case. Can they save Spencer and his friends before It's too late? WARNINGS:: M rating. Mentions of child abuse, suicide and death. No slash.
1. Prologue

Hello readers! This is my first fanfiction ever and I'm still learning the ropes. Please read and review. I would love to know what you think! Thanks all, happy reading! :)

 **WARNINGS:: Mentions of child abuse, suicide and death. Mild swearing throughout. No slash!**

 **(I do not own CBS, Criminal Minds or their characters. I just obsess and write tragic fanfiction about them.)**

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Chapter 1: Prologue

Fourteen year old Spencer woke with pained whine. He turned in his bed to see the sun fighting to shine into the boarded window.

He remembered the last time he had tried to run away. That was three years ago. As a result he'd gotten the beating of a lifetime and wooden boards outside his window. He hadn't been allowed out of the house for days after that. He knew he would never attempt to run away again. But that didn't mean he wasn't planning another way to escape.

He slowly forced himself to sit up, careful of the pain in his ribs and his rear. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and looked at his bruised arms. Closing his eyes tightly, he tried to block out the memories of the night before.

He hoped his door would be opened soon. He needed to talk to Riley. Today was the day their plan would be finished. And he was more than ready. He was eager to end his pain.

Spencer had never been afraid of dying. He longed for the peace and relief he would feel taking his last breath. He wondered if he would see his mother again once he left this world. Ethan and Brooklyn had gone first and then Alex. Now it was their turn. They would do it together.

The click of the timer unlocking his door brought him out of his thoughts. He opened the door and quietly made his way down the stairs, hoping not to wake his foster parents.

The moment he stepped out the front door, he felt free. A simple smile graced his lips as he walked away from the house, knowing he would never have to go back. Knowing after today, he would never suffer again.


	2. The Case

Chapter 2: The Case

 **Two days earlier**

"Checkmate." Blake said with a grin.

Defeated, Rossi knocked his King to the side and put his hands up in surrender.

"Good morning my lovelies!" Garcia exclaimed as she entered the jet with a laptop in hand and Morgan carrying both their luggage behind her.

Agent Hotchner had called the whole team to meet at the airstrip in an hour. Briefing for the case was to be on the jet and based on his tone, it wasn't going tone fun.

"It's about time you got here." Rossi said.

At that Blake looked up with a look confusion. "Garcia? I didn't realize you were coming along."

"Apparently boss man thinks my skills will be more useful if I'm on hand. But then again, when am I not?" She asked with a wink. Morgan grinned and finished putting away Garcia's considerably heavy bag with one last shove. "Any idea what the case is about?" Garcia asked as she sat at the table opposite Rossi and Blake.

Before anyone could respond to Garcia, Hotch appeared in the entryway with an anxious looking JJ behind him. "Everyone get settled. We're taking off now." Hotch's eyes were dark and his voice was stern as they walked passed the others. He and JJ sat toward the back of the jet and set the files on the back table before putting away their bags. Morgan quickly grabbed what he needed and took his seat across from Garcia.

Everyone got settled in and the plane took off in minutes. Once the seat belt light turned off, Hotch stood facing the team. JJ walked over to the small kitchenette and put on a pot of coffee before sitting back at her place across the table from Hotch.

"We got a request from Las Vegas PD. They have a series of teen suicides on their hands but something isn't right. The suicides are too similar to be coincidental." Hotch stated.

"What makes them similar?" Blake asked, she pen ready to write any notes she needed.

"All of these teenagers showed obvious signs of physical abuse. Scars, burns and bruises were found in various degrees on the bodies. They were each found with a note in their pockets." Hotch reached down and searched through his folder until he found what he was looking for.

"They each have the same message in what looks to be their own hand writing. 'Death is better than the hell we lived.'" Everyone paused for a moment to think about what Hotch had just read.

Morgan shook his head and stood up to get a cup of coffee for himself and Garcia, Blake following behind him to get mug for JJ. A minute later they both returned to their seats and JJ gave Blake a grateful full smile before taking a deep sip.

After getting a stiff nod from Hotch, JJ turned in her seat and held up a picture of a young man with brown eyes and black hair slicked back in a messy bun. He had a faint smile on his face for the school picture, but his eyes were dark and sad. "This is Ethan Scott, an eighteen year old musician. On Monday evening he was found overdosed on a quiet street just outside of downtown."

Next she held up another school photo of a young woman with short unnatural red hair elegantly falling around her face. The dye looked faded and her brown roots were beginning to show. "Seventeen year old runaway Brooklyn Pines was found overdosed near by at the same time the next day." Her bright green eyes glowed and her smile looked genuine. It was as if she didn't have a care in the world.

Hotch took the last photo and held it out for the others to see. "Our latest victim was found early this morning but she had been dead for several hours. Sixteen year old Alexis Pace was found in a Christian church near the high school she attended. The preacher and his wife said she wasn't homeless but sometimes decided to sleep there." Alexis looked to be made out of glass. As if one touch could send her crashing and breaking into dust. She had a light smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Her straight brown hair hung perfectly and her brown eyes looked shy and unsure.

"Were they all overdosed with the same drug?" Blake asked.

"All of the results aren't back yet but that seems to be the case." JJ answered sadly as she reached up to hold the necklace around her neck.

"Any evidence of sexual abuse?" Rossi asked.

"Alexis Pace was malnourished and had obvious signs of sexual abuse as well as severe bruising that covered most of her body." Hotch answered.

"So what exactly is this? A suicide pact?" Morgan asked angrily. "I mean, all these kids were abused and died at the same time, in the same way, three days in a row. They must have met somewhere."

"That's what we need to find out." Hotch said as he set all of the photos aside. "We need to know if they were coerced into taking their lives or if they planned this on their own. Either way we need to know why. Garcia, I need you to look through their files and see what they have in common. Parents, schools, friends, anything."

"Way ahead of you sir!" Her fingers typed at top speed, eyes quickly scanning the information on her screen. "So, based on their pictures I figured they may have gone to the same school and BINGO! They all went to the same high school and at some point shared at least one class together. Ethan dropped out over a year ago and ran away after being released from a mental hospital called Fairfax. Brooklyn finished school with a 3.0 before running away with Ethan. Alexis was in the same advanced math class as Brooklyn before she graduated out last year." Garcia explained. "Alexis was still attending classes up until yesterday. Poor girl."

"Why was Ethan in a mental hospital?" Rossi asked with a frown.

"Self harm and a suicide attempt." Garcia answered.

"Rossi I want you to go talk to the mortician and see if they can give us any more details on what these kids have gone through. I also need to know if they've identified the drugs yet. Morgan and Blake, you're going to the school. Talk to teachers and students and I'll meet up with you once I'm done at the station." Receiving nods from the three, he turned his attention to the others before continuing. "JJ, when we get to the station I want you to get Garcia set up and start going through the police records. Garcia I want you tracking down the victims parents. I want to know when they last saw their kids and why they weren't reported missing." He said with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Hello…" Garcia mumbled.

"Whatcha got baby girl?" Morgan asked.

"They were all in foster care.. It looks like for several years."

"Are they from the same home?" Blake asked.

"No all three of them came from different places."

"Well its already Thursday so we'd better get this case done fast. If not we'll have another death on our hands this evening." Rossi said grimly.

"That's another thing. I want everyone on the look out for anyone that fits our victimology. Loners, outcasts, foster kids. Garcia, how many high school aged foster kids are in the Las Vegas foster care system?" She typed for a moment and then stopped. She looked up with sadness in her eyes. "Hundreds sir."

"But how many are registered at the same school the other victims attended?" Blake asked.

After typing a moment longer Garcia replied, "Twenty-six. It's a big school but at least we narrowed it down, right?", she asked hopefully.

"Well finding our next victim isn't going to be easy." Hotch said, sitting down. "We'll be landing in a couple hours. Everyone try to get some rest while you can."

Clear of their assignments, everyone spread out on the jet making themselves as comfortable as possible. Alex moved to reset the chess board and quickly made her first move, trying not to dwell on the son that she had lost. Rossi leaned forward staring at the board, wondering what horrors this case would bring, and remembering the son he had never gotten to know.

Garcia closed her laptop and brought out a hat she had started knitting, and she though about what special treat she would bake for the team once this case was over. Morgan put on his headphones and closed his eyes, trying to rid himself of the bad memories of abuse that were plaguing him. JJ put away her belongings and leaned over on the pillow in the seat beside her. She closed her eyes grasping her necklace, fighting off her own pained memories about losing her older sister to suicide.

Hotch leaned back in his seat and watched his team settle in. He knew their minds were filled with dark thoughts. This case was hitting home for them all in some way. He tried to keep his focus on the case instead of his own memories of his fathers abuse. He picked up a file and began to read. He hated cases like this.

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Spencer woke up to fierce vibrating in his pocket. Riley had given him a burner phone and was terrified of his foster parents hearing it. He looked at the screen to see that he had missed three calls and two messages from Riley. He opened the first message and read, ' _Hey kid I'm on my way_ ' the second message read ' _You're late. Are you okay? Why aren't you answering your phone_?' Spencer quickly answered with a simple ' _Sorry, coming'._

He didn't know how he managed to oversleep. Especially once he opened his bedroom door to hear his foster mother Wanda yelling down the phone, likely to Rick, his foster father. "Why were gone all night?! You can't keep doing this to me! You go around screwing every little whore you can find and leave me here like I don't ever matter!" He glided down the stairs hoping to pass her without being noticed. He stopped when Wanda threw the phone against the wall. She turned and saw him, tears streaming down her face and her long blonde hair looking wild. She took a drag from her cigarette as she walked toward him.

Before he could even blink he was pushed against the wall with her cigarette in his face. "What are you looking at you little shit?! You want some?" Spencer closed his eyes and whimpered, he could feel the heat from the cigarette and was sure he was going to get burned. Instead Wanda gave him a rough push toward the door and shouted, "Get the hell outta here!" The door slammed behind him and he quickly made his way down the street.

A few minutes later he reached the park where he met Riley every morning. He turned the corner to see his friend waiting for him on a park bench. He immediately noticed the cut on his lip and the bruise under one eye. His brown hair ruffled in the breeze while he anxiously tapped his foot, no doubt waiting for Spencer to show up.

When he noticed Spencer approaching, he jumped up to meet him. "What the hell took you so long Spence?! Are you hurt?" Riley asked making his way over to grasp his shoulder. Spencer just shook his head no and reached up to touch Riley's bruised eye.

Riley pushed his hand away. "Don't worry about that I'm fine. You not talking today?" Riley asked.

He wasn't surprised when Spencer didn't answer but looked down and played with the hem of his sleeve. Spencer didn't talk much. He always seemed so scared and small. Riley was three years older than Spencer and he stood a good seven inches taller.

"Alright kid. Let's get going." Riley ruffled his hair and turned, heading toward the high school with Spencer following alongside him.

They had barely made it a block before Riley spoke again. "Listen Spence." Spencer glared at him before looking back down. He already knew what he was going to say. They had been over this again and again. "I'm not staying." Spencer said quietly.

"Shit Spencer I'm not talking about a field trip!" Riley said, irritated that he couldn't get through to his friend. "You don't have to die man. You're not like us. We're screwed! You're smart and talented and you could just get the hell out of here in a few years. I bet you could win millions at poker the second you turn eighteen and then you could do whatever you want."

Spencer stopped walking and stayed quiet for moment. Still looking down at his feet, he spoke in a quiet voice, "You know I won't live to see eighteen anyways." He looked up and Riley finally noticed a large bruise on one side of Spencer's neck. "Damn it Spencer I thought you said you weren't hurt!" Riley's face was panicked. He pushed Spencer's backpack off of his shoulders and pulled his collar down to see a bruises covering his right shoulder. "Shit!" Riley took a step back and ran his hands through his wavy brown hair.

"I couldn't call you." Spencer explained leaning down to put his backpack back on. "And even if I could have it wouldn't have made any difference." They stood in silence for a few minutes before Spencer spoke again. "You know? It doesn't scare me. I think we're lucky that we won't have to be here anymore. But I think it's pretty damn selfish for you to ask me not to kill myself when you're planning on doing the same thing!" Spencer maintained eye contact this time. His anger was unexpected and Riley knew he would have laughed at his attempt and looking fierce had the situation been different.

"I'm sorry." Riley said. "I just… I wish I could help you. I love you like a little brother, and all I've done is watch you suffer."

"That's what Ethan thought about you you know?" Spencer replied. "But your suffering wasn't his fault right? You'd never blame him?" Riley shook his head.

"Then how could I ever blame you?" Riley smiled at Spencer's question.

"You know you're too smart for your own good right? Aren't I supposed to be making you feel better?"

"I'm smart enough to make my own decisions." Spencer smiled. "And you do make me feel better." He said, and he stepped forward and hugged Riley with watery eyes.

"Thank you Riley. Thank you for being my best friend."

Riley hugged him back and kissed the top of his head.

"Always little brother."

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 **AUTHORS NOTE::**

 **Hey all! This is my first ever fanfiction so please read and review!**

 **My goal is to update once a week until the story is complete.**

 **I hope you all like it. Happy reading :)**


	3. The School

Chapter 3: The School

Morgan pulled the SUV into the car park outside of the high school. He looked over to Blake and seeing that she was ready they both got out. It was a pretty big school but it didn't look too complicated to get around. They found the office after walking down two short hallways. They quickly took in their surroundings and walked to the front desk with a name tag that read 'Mrs. Franklin'.

Morgan took the lead with a charming smile. "Good morning Mrs. Franklin. I'm SSA Morgan and this is SSA Blake with the FBI." He and Blake both held up their badges. Before she could respond, a tall middle aged man with dark hair came out of the next room.

"You're here about the deaths isn't that right?" He asked, holding out his hand to meet Morgan's. "I'm the principle, Daniel Bloodsoe. I'm glad you're here."

Mrs. Franklin reached over to answer a ringing phone, and Mr. Bloodsoe gestured the two agents to follow him into the next room.

Once in the principles office, they spoke freely.

"Agents, is someone killing these teenagers?" Mr. Bloodsoe asked.

"We can't be sure of that at this time but all of the deaths have been ruled as suicides. We're here trying to find any connections the victims might have had." Morgan answered.

Blake stepped up and asked, "Did you know Ethan Scott, Brooklyn Pines and Alexis Pace?"

"Yes." The principal answered with a nod. "Ethan and Brooklyn were seniors last year and Alexis was a junior. They were together all the time until Ethan dropped out and Brooklyn graduated last year. I haven't seen them since then. But Alexis… I just saw her yesterday." He said shaking his head. "She would have graduated in a few months."

"Did her behavior seem strange to you at all? Was she scared?" Morgan questioned.

"No nothing unusual. She was always very shy. Kept to herself once Brooklyn graduated. They were pretty close." He said with a sad smile.

Morgan pulled out his cell phone and held it up for Mr. Bloodsoe to see.

"I have a list of names I want you to go through, and tell me if you've seen any of them with our victims. Please take your time and think about each one."

Mr. Bloodsoe took the phone and slowly began reading through twenty-six names. He recognized each one as a student currently enrolled in the school. He looked at agent Morgan with a deep frown, "You think there will be more deaths?" He asked concerned.

"It's a possibility." Morgan answered. "But right now we need to know who else was in their friend circle so we can talk to the students. It's the fastest way to find out what really happened and why."

Meanwhile, Blake stepped away and took out her phone to read a group message from Rossi.

' _All the kids overdosed on Hydromorphone. Otherwise known as Dilaudid or drug store heroin. Based on Alexis' blood work and the marks on her arms, she'd been using for a long time. No signs of drug abuse on the other two._ '

She saw Hotch's reply to the message and read. ' _Were there any drugs found on the bodies?'_

A minute later Rossi answered, ' _That's the weird part. Not only were there no drugs on them, but no needles or tourniquets either. These kids didn't inject themselves. Someone either helped them or forced them to do this.'_

At that Blake messaged the group, _'What if we're dealing with an angel of mercy? Someone sees them suffering and decides they're better off dead.'_

Hotch messaged next. _'Rossi, come back to the station. Garcia tracked down the foster parents and they'll be here soon. Blake I want you to talk to anyone connected with our victims. We'll work out a profile once we have more information.'_

Blake put her phone away and walked back over to where Mr. Bloodsoe was showing Morgan something in his computer. Morgan gestured to her to come look and Mr. Bloodsoe said, "This is Zachary Bell. He's an eighteen year old senior here." Blake and Morgan looked over the boy's picture. He was tall and broad with blond hair cut short. He wore a cocky smile and his blue eyes stared right through them. "He and Ethan were close friends. They got into some trouble together some weeks back."

"What kind of trouble?" Blake asked.

"They were caught breaking into another students house. The police got involved but the owner of the house didn't press charges. I had to give Zachary a weeks suspension but Ethan was no longer a student here."

"Who's house did they break into?" Morgan asked.

"Um…" Mr. Bloodsoe thought for a moment. "I'm sorry I can't remember. Let me see if I can find out." He searched through the files on his computer for a few minutes before speaking again. "That's right, it was Riley Jenkins' house. He's seventeen. A junior now."

The photo on the screen showed a tall young man with brown curls falling around his ears. He had green eyes and a kind smile. "We'll need to speak with them both. Where can we find them?" Alex asked, standing from her slouched position.

Mr. Bloodsoe guided Blake back out to Mrs. Franklins desk to ask what classes they were in, while Morgan called Garcia to ask for details on the two boys.

Riley had been in foster care since his father died in a car accident when he was ten. He'd spent almost a year in a group home before being placed with one family after the next. Once his case manager became aware of the abuse in his third home, he was sent to another group home. He had been to six homes all together.

Zachary was in foster care from the time he was three years old. His mother was declared mentally unfit and sent to live in a halfway house, where she later committed suicide. He had been in a multitude of group homes and more than half of the foster homes he was placed in were found guilty of abuse and neglect.

Morgan didn't even want to think about the horrors that the other twenty-four kids on that list were going through. Not to mention the 3,000 other kids in the Clark County foster care system.

By the time Morgan was off the phone, Blake had the room numbers and they headed down the hall, Mr. Bloodsoe leading the way.

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Riley sat in his class staring out the side window, not caring about the class assignment. He wanted this day to be over. He wished his life had turned out differently. He missed his father. Ever since he died, his life had been a depressing mess.

He discretely checked his phone to make sure Spencer or Zachary hadn't messaged him. It was hard to see your friends disappearing one by one but strangely comforting knowing they were free. He couldn't wait for this to be over. Alexis had always talked about heaven and how happy they would be once they were all gone. He hoped she was right. He looked up when he heard Ms. Dawson call his name. That's when he noticed Mr. Bloodsoe standing in the doorway waving him to step outside. Great. What now?

He handed in his unfinished assignment and followed the principle out. When they reached the teachers lounge at the end of the next hall, he saw two people standing inside. 'Social workers? You've gotta be kidding me!' he thought. Once he and Mr. Bloodsoe were inside, the door was closed, and Blake stepped forward.

"Hello Riley. I'm Agent Blake with the FBI and this is my partner Agent Morgan."

"FBI? What's the FBI want with me?" Riley asked confused and a little surprised.

He knew that their plan would gain people's attention but he never expected to be questioned.

"We wanted to ask you a few questions about Ethan Scott and Zachary Bell. They broke into your house a while back is that right?" Agent Blake asked.

Riley tried not to show that he was nervous when he answered, "Yeah."

"Do you know why they broke into your house?" She asked gently. "What were they doing there?"

 **Riley remembered that day clearly. His foster father Kevin was on a business trip and his wife had gone to her sisters place for the weekend. Leaving him alone. He was so tired of being alone, but he was glad to have a break from Mr. Clarke. That bastard was always angry about something. He had hit him so hard the day before that he blacked out and he found himself wishing he hadn't woken up. That's when he'd had enough.**

 **He pulled up a chair and tied a long extension cord into a noose and hung it on the sturdy light fixture in the living room. He thought about his friends. He was so hurt when Ethan had tried to kill himself. He didn't want to cause his friends the same pain again, but he knew that they of all people would understand. Life was hell. Why should he stick around?**

 **He felt the worst about leaving Spencer. They had been in and out of the same group homes for years and by now they were like brothers. He was the only person the kid really talked to. He felt bad for leaving him behind, but he just couldn't take this anymore.**

 **He was about to put the noose around his neck but the next thing he knew, a window was broken and he was crashing to the floor. Ethan was on top of him with tears in his eyes. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He yelled. And all Riley could do was cry. He looked to the side to see Zachary looking down at them. He hadn't even heard them knocking and calling out for him. They broke in to save his pitiful life.**

Coming out of his memory, Riley finally answered with a lie, "How should I know? I didn't even know who they were until they got caught."

"They weren't friends of yours?" Blake asked.

"No. We we're not even in the same grade."

"Then why didn't you call the police when they broke in?" Morgan asked.

Riley hesitated. "I didn't hear them come in. Otherwise I would have."

"So you didn't hear them but your neighbor did?" Blake pushed.

"I had my headphones on upstairs. By the time in even noticed someone was in the house the cops were already down the street."

"Where were your parents that night?"

"Well, Mr. Clarke was on a business meeting so Mrs. Clarke decided to go along and stay with her sister."

"Mr. And Mrs. Clarke? Why do you call them that?" Blake already knew the answer, but they needed to see how the kid responded.

Riley felt even more nervous now. How could he make this sound better?

"Well, they aren't my parents. They're more like…" come on think of something good!

"caretakers or mentors. I'm just staying with them until I'm eighteen."

"So your caretakers left you home alone?"

Riley was a bit thrown off by the question.

"Yeah, I mean it's not like I'm a little kid. I can take care of myself." He'd been doing it for years.

"Besides, we trust each other. They know I wouldn't throw a party or anything."

"Are you happy where you're living Riley?" Morgan asked.

"Absolutely!" He answered without hesitation. And gave the most genuine smile possible.

"I don't know where I'd be right now without the Clarke's."

There was a pause in the agents questioning, so Riley decided to ask one of his own.

"Isn't a break-in a little low key for the FBI? The Clarke's aren't in any trouble are they?" He asked cautiously, wearing a concerned and curious expression. He was better at deceiving people than he thought.

Morgan and Blake exchanged looks at his questions, and Morgan stepped up to fill in the blanks. "Look kid, no ones in any trouble okay? We're investing a series of suicides. The first one was Ethan Scott. Can you tell us about him?"

"I didn't really know him. Sorry."

"What about Zachary Bell? He still goes to school here. Do you guys ever hang out?"

Riley thought quickly on how to get them off the trail. They wanted people to know in the end, but they couldn't let law enforcement interfere with the plan. He decided to keep up his lies, knowing that Zachary would do the same if he were questioned.

"No not really. I see him around sometimes but we haven't talked much."

"Do you know who Brooklyn Pines is." Blake asked.

Riley shook his head no.

"How about Alexis Pace?" She asked.

Riley's heart ached at hearing his friends names, but still he shook his head again. "No."

Blake nodded to the principle before addressing the boy. "Alight, thank you for talking to us Riley. You can go back to class now." Riley smiled and nodded as he stood to leave.

"But before you go, mind telling us what happened to your face?" Morgan asked.

Now this was an easy one. Lying about his injuries came naturally to him by now.

"Gym can be brutal. Especially for someone as uncoordinated as me." He said with an amused laugh. With that, Mr. Bloodsoe walked Riley back to class and went to get Zachary.

Alone again, Blake turned to Morgan and said, "I don't think he knows anything about our case but.. I don't know, it seems like he's hiding something."

"Yeah." Morgan nodded in agreement. "He's at least two grades under our victims so I'm not surprised that they weren't friends. But two foster kids breaking into another ones house? That just doesn't say coincidence to me."

"It doesn't seem likely." Blake agreed. "He was nervous. Especially when you asked if he was happy. Then again with all the homes he's been in he was probably worried he would be taken away again. He seemed genuinely grateful to his current fosters."

"Well at least we know that Zachary was friends with Ethan and Brooklyn. Hopefully he can give us a lead." Just as Morgan finished his sentence, the door opened and Mr. Bloodsoe walked in with Zachary Bell.

This time, Mr. Bloodsoe made the introductions. "Zachary, these are agents Morgan and Blake with the FBI." Zachary snapped at attention, but said nothing.

Morgan spoke up first. "Hey relax kid. We just need to ask you a few questions about your friend Ethan Scott." Morgan noticed the kid's shoulders drop slightly and his expression hardened.

"What do you wanna know?"

"Were you close?" Morgan asked.

He nodded slowly. "He was my best friend."

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"Monday."

"Same day he died." Blake said. Zachary just nodded.

"Did you know he was planning his suicide?" She asked gently.

He looked back up to meet her gaze. "No. He was messed up. He tried once before and they put him in a hospital. He never came back to school but we still got to see each other sometimes. I'm not surprised that he tried again."

"What makes you say 'he was messed up'?" Morgan asked.

"He tried to kill himself. Isn't that messed up?" He asked with some irritation before continuing.

"He was depressed all the time. Sometimes he was paranoid. He always thought someone was trying to hurt him…" his sentence trailed off. "not that I could blame him."

"Do you think he was paranoid because someone was hurting him?" Blake asked.

"I dunno. But I never saw anyone fool him. He always protected the other kids from bullies. He was as gentle as a teddy bear, but no one would dare to mess with him."

"Why did you and Ethan break in to Riley Jenkins house?" Morgan asked.

Zachary wasn't sure how he wanted to answer. But he knew they couldn't know the truth yet. That would lead them to Riley and Spencer. The fact that the FBI was here meant that their message would definitely get across. But they couldn't be interrupted.

He remembered the day Riley didn't show up for school.

 **Spencer didn't speak at all that day. But then again, Riley was the only person he really spoke to. He could tell Spencer was worried. He was even more withdrawn than usual and his nervous ticks were constantly at play. Zachary had messaged Alexis and they met in the library at lunch time. She tried to comfort Spencer but he wouldn't respond.**

 **Ethan came to meet them after school to walk Spencer home, knowing he would be in trouble if he was late. He had given them a pleading look, so Ethan promised they would text him as soon as they found Riley. Spencer reluctantly nodded and disappeared up the walkway to the hell he called home.**

 **After walking for another ten minutes, they came up to Riley's house. They knocked loudly for several minutes, calling out his name. Zachary went to the window and swore at what he saw. Riley was standing on a chair about to put a noose around his neck! Ethan ran over to see what was wrong, and immediately smashed the window with a large rock.**

 **Zachary gave Ethan a boost through the window and jumped up after him, pulling himself through the broken window.**

That was the day this whole thing had started. Riley just tried to kill himself. Ethan had already been in a mental hospital because of his suicide attempt earlier that school year. Brooklyn was constantly drinking and she always pulled her hair and cut herself. Alexis was addicted to any drugs she could get her hands on and she only showed up to school for test days. Spencer was always bruised and he was so scared and broken that he would hardly even speak. He couldn't stand loud noises, being around too many people or being touched. They all knew Spencer was smarter than all of them put together, but because of his odd behavior teachers put him in special Ed. And then there was him, Zachary Bell. Homeless runaway. Drug addict. Failing out of school. He had been ignored, beaten and used all his life. And now he'd had enough.

All of them were abused. All of them were alone. All of them were hopeless. And the foster care system was to blame. Something had to change. It was too late for them, but maybe they could change the future. And at the same time, end this madness.

Zachary was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of the lunch bell ringing.

"Sorry, what?" He asked, trying to buy a moment to collect himself.

"Why did you break into Riley's house?" Morgan repeated.

"Oh… Well Ethan broke into places all the time." That part was true, but it was only to crash in vacation homes or find some food and take a shower when homeowners were at work. Other times they hid out in the school until it was closed. They showered there, shopped through the lost and found, and consumed loads of fruit and milk from the lunchroom kitchen.

"I guess I was just curious. We didn't know it was another kid's house. We were just foolin around ya know?" He lied.

Morgan did know. He grew up in Chicago. And once his father passed away, he started acting out. If he hadn't spent his adolescence 'fooling around', he never would have met his so called mentor, Buford. But he didn't want to think about that now.

"What did your parents think about you breaking and entering?" Blake asked.

They didn't care as long as they got a check. Sure the cops had taken him home and his foster mother acted like he had never run away. She'd grabbed him and hugged him and thanked the cops for their time, assuring them he would be disciplined. As soon as the door closed Zachary bolted for his room and locked the door behind him. There was no way he was sticking around. He didn't have many belongings but he was able to grab some fresh clothes and leave the old ones he'd been wearing. Then he climbed out the window and hasn't been back since.

"They weren't happy about it. I got grounded for a while but I learned my lesson just by thinking I was going to jail." He said with a smirk. Both agents smiled. Good, they bought it.

"Do you like where you're living now Zachary?" Morgan asked.

Zachary looked down. Of course he didn't. He didn't actually live anywhere. Since the break in he turned eighteen. He never wanted to go back to that house, and now he never had to.

"It's hard. I never knew my real parents. I've stayed with a lot of different people and this is the safest and happiest I've ever felt." He smiled at the agents. That was the truth. He never felt safer than when he was around Ethan. And now he hid out in the school to sleep, knowing no one would find him, let alone bother him. He was happy, because he knew this was almost over.

"Well thanks kid, looks like you've got a lunch break now. No more fooling around. You only get to be a kid once. Don't waste it." Agent Morgan said.

Thank goodness that was true. He would only suffer through his childhood once. Not that it wasn't enough. Zachary looked at the time.

"Thank you for cooperating with us Zachary." Agent Blake said with a kind smile.

"Are you kidding me?" Zachary asked with a smile as he opened the door. "I'd do anything to get out of math class." and with that he walked out the door.

The moment the door shut behind him, his smile dropped. He went on to text Riley and Spencer. They had to be careful not to be seen together.

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 **AUTHORS NOTE::**

 **I hope you're all enjoying the story so far! As I said before this is my first fanfiction ever so please read and review. I would love to know what you think! I hope to be posting the next chapter in about a week. I promise you'll see more of Spencer next time :) Happy reading!**


	4. Hush

**WARNINGS! This chapter has some descriptions of abuse. Read with caution. Rated M for a reason. You have need warned.**

Chapter 4: Hush

JJ slowly made her way back to the room that was set up for the FBI. Her head was buzzing and she was mentally exhausted from the first two interviews they'd had. Ethan's last foster parents, Cedrick and Victoria Butler, were old and caring. They had taken in dozens of foster children through the years. They said Ethan had taken off weeks ago. They didn't report him missing because this was 'normal' behavior for him.

In the two years Ethan stayed with them he would disappear for days at a time, they would report him missing, and the police would find him playing music on the streets. Then about a year ago, Cedrick found him on the floor with an empty pill bottle on his bedside table. He was hospitalized for mental treatment and never went back to school. He continued staying with them on and off even after the system dropped him at eighteen. Eventually, because of his regular disappearances and his recent hospitalization, the police stopped taking them seriously.

The Butler's hadn't been notified of Ethan's death because they were no longer considered his guardians, and they were grieved to hear of his death. They were only sorry they didn't meet Ethan soon enough to help him. By the time Ethan was placed in there care, he was already broken beyond repair, and unable to accept that they were on his side. They insisted on taking care of his burial arrangements before leaving the station in tears.

Brooklyn's foster parents were polar opposites. They were irritable, uncaring and uncooperative. JJ new they weren't telling the truth, so after half an hour of them tiptoeing around her questions, Hotch and Rossi took over.

By the time their heated questioning ended, Hotch and Rossi discovered that Brooklyn had taken care of the Simmons' children when they went out. She did the cooking, cleaning and laundry to 'earn her keep' in their household. Instead of being cared for, she was treated like a free housekeeper and nanny.

Mr. Simmons admitted that they had gotten into an argument with the girl about getting emancipated. Brooklyn came home slightly drunk and started packing loudly and when Mr. Simmons tried to stop her from leaving things got physical. She wasn't reported missing out of fear of getting arrested for striking her.

Alexis Pace ran away from her foster father just a few days ago. Garcia was busy trying to track down Jonathan Foyer so they could speak with him. The last place Alexis slept was at the church she was found in, so Hotch sent Morgan and Blake to search the premises for anything the police may have missed.

Two hours later the team was all together again touching base on what they had learned.

"We found Alexis' belongings hidden in the upper level of the church." Blake said, pulling a small notebook out of her jacket. "She kept a detailed journal of what she went through and in it she talks about Jonathan Foyer repeatedly raping her, and recording it. I think we should get a warrant to search his place so we can find proof."

"I have a feeling we're going to find a lot more than we want to." Rossi said shaking his head. "This son of a bitch is a school teacher. He coaches little league and he's praised for his work in child care. He's a successful pedophile if I've ever heard of one."

"Not to mention he fostered three kids before Alexis. There's no telling what those kids went through." JJ added. "We'll have to talk to them too."

Morgan was seething in silence. He would find this sicko if it was the last thing he did.

"Garcia has his address but he hasn't been there for several days. He also hasn't showed up for work. She's working on finding where he's taken off to." Hotch's explained. "Did Alexis write about her suicide plans?" He asked Blake.

She opened the journal and shuffled through for a moment before answering.

"She wrote about the pact but was careful not to write any names. She says it was all her friends idea but the dilaudid was hers. They all wanted to die quick and painless and she knew just how to get the drugs and administer them." She turned a few more pages and continued. "She talks about getting people's attention and making people change... saving the little ones.. Later she begs for forgiveness. She feels guilty for the pact but she says it's too late for any of them to be saved. She feels especially guilty for someone she calls 'Hush'. It says, 'Hush is just a baby.' Whoever it is I think they're our next victim."

She passed the notebook over to Hotch and the team listened as he read a small poem.

"Hush little baby don't say a word

everything's a secret that can't be heard.

For if you tell they'll make you pay

but don't worry, Hush we'll take you away.

I'll show you how, just follow me.

It won't hurt a bit, and then we'll be free.

I'm sorry things turned out this way

But I love you Hush, it will be okay.

Hush little baby don't you cry,

Lexi's gonna sing you a lullaby.

No one can hurt you ever again.

There are only good people in heaven."

The team was silent until Garcia sniffled at the doorway.

"We're gonna save them right?" She asked with wet eyes.

"I know foster care is horrible but we can help them can't we? I mean there are good people out there just like the family that adopted me. We can help them!"

Morgan walked to her and grasped her hand. "Hey it's okay. We're gonna try baby girl but we have to find out who else is at risk." He turned to face the rest of the team, not letting go of Garcia's hand. "We talked to several students today on the foster care list that were in the same age group as our victims. But none of them seem to be at risk of doing something this drastic. I think we should go back and talk to the rest of them just in case."

"I think it safe to say that 'Hush' is younger than the others." JJ said looking over the notebook. "Alexis' poem makes it sound like they all look after this person. 'We'll take you away' 'just follow me' 'don't cry'. And she referred to Hush as a baby but it's not literal. Its like he or she is the most vulnerable."

"School is already out but tomorrow I want Blake and Morgan back at the school talking to any freshman on Garcia's list. For now stay here and keep working on victimology. We have no idea how many more kids are in this pact but I'm not waiting a round for another death. Garcia, keep looking for Foyer and Rossi, come with me to talk to the officers." Hotch said. "Let's get to work."

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Spencer waited a while after the bell rang to leave his classroom. Ms. Kate told him he could leave but the longer he waited the less bullies he ran into. Usually Riley or Alexis would come and walk him home, but today he couldn't be seen with his friends. Riley and Zachary had both been questioned by FBI and if they found out what they had planned they would surely get in trouble. Zachary would take off and he and Riley would be separated and sent to new foster homes. New hells.

No not again. No more homes! He was supposed to be next after Alexis. In a few hours he wouldn't be here anymore. He hoped Alexis was right and that he would see her again someday. Maybe he would see his mother again too. He missed he terribly and tiring not to think about the last time he saw her. She had always talked about a paradise that they would meet in and he smiled at that thought. But his smile faded when Ms. Kate walked over to him signing 'Look who's here.' A tall man with blonde hair walked into the classroom behind her. It was Rick.

Spencer's heart dropped to his stomach. The only time Rick picked him up from school was when he fought with Wanda. No doubt she was staying with a friend, and now he could get away with doing anything he wanted with Spencer. Not that Wanda ever cared enough to stop him anyways.

He felt tears well in his eyes but he hid them quickly. He couldn't do this again. Maybe he could just run? Run right past him and find Riley and Zachary. He wouldn't have to do it if he was dead. And he would so much rather be dead.

"Hey kiddo." Rick smiled. He seemed so nice. So charming. It was no wonder no one suspected what a monster he really was.

"How has Spencer been doing lately?" he asked Ms. Kate kindly.

"He's been doing just fine." She smiled, signing at the same time. "He's been communicating a bit more and he's been in regular classes most of the time. As long as no one gets in his space he does quite well."

"That's great Spencer!" Rick smiled hugely and crouched down a bit. "Why don't we get going home, huh?"

Rick reached out for him and Spencer jumped back and groaned. He shook his head violently. Desperate to stay away from Rick. He wanted to beg Ms. Kate for help but he was to scared to even open his mouth and sign language was useless if he couldn't even move his arms from hugging around his middle. He moaned and kept shaking his head trying to build up the courage to run past him and out of the building. He would run forever if he had to.

"Oh sweetie, it's okay. I'll see you tomorrow alright?" Ms. Kate spoke softly and was careful not to touch him. She turned to get his backpack and the moment she was gone, Rick grabbed his chin and glared down at him. "You're only making this harder Spencer." He growled. And Spencer was frozen, eyes wide and fearful. Rick let go of him and the smile returned on his face as Ms. Kate walked up with Spencer's backpack.

Rick thanked her and took Spencer's hand and together they walked out to the expensive blue Mercedes that was Rick's pride and joy. The ride to the house was silent and Spencer fought back tears the entire way. This wasn't fair. He should have to be here. He knew he his would not be ending tonight. There was no way to get away from this man without calling the police. And that he just couldn't do.

As soon as they were in the house, Rick said, "Go on upstairs kiddo. I'll be there in a few minutes." Spencer already knew what that meant.

He rushed upstairs and pulled of his phone, quickly messaging Riley and Zach.

' _Can't do it tonight. Rick picked me up from school. Please wait for me. Don't mess up the plan, you can't tell! Don't come here and don't text back. It's okay.'_

After sending the message he turned his cellphone off and hid it in one of his shoes so it wouldn't be found. He sat on the edge of his bed and waited for Rick to come in. He wiped away the lone tear that escaped and hoped that Riley wouldn't leave him. It would put a gap in the plan to skip a day but it didn't really matter now. They were already getting people's attention, now all they had to do, was go to sleep, and never wake up.

Alexis had been the one to inject Ethan and Brooklyn and Zachary was the one that did it for Alexis. Tonight Zachary was supposed to inject him, and the next day Riley. Zachary would be the only one to die alone, he wanted to see things through. Everyone agreed, and eventually they decided on an order. They all agreed it was better to die together than to suffer and die alone.

Spencer struggled with the thought that he should be dying in the next two hours, but instead he was waiting for his foster father to come in and rape him. Again. But what was one more night? It would all be over tomorrow. One more day wouldn't break him. One more time wouldn't…

He was brought out of his thoughts when Rick walked into his room, closing the door behind him. He had a warm loving smile on his face and for a moment Spencer wondered if Rick really did love him in some sick way. His breathing caught in his chest when Rick approached the bed and pushed him to lay down.

He knew Rick was speaking to him but he couldn't manage to focus on his words.

He wiped the tears from Spencer's eyes and shushed him, promising that it would be okay.

Spencer closed his eyes and tried to block out the hands roaming his body and removing his clothes. He thought about Brooklyn covering him with her jacket when the football team had stripped him naked. And he thought about Riley hugging him and telling him everything would be okay. When the pain began, he remembered how Ethan and Zachary would save him from bullies and anything else that could hurt him. As his body moved, he thought about his mother rocking him while reading her favorite novels. He drowned out Rick's pleasured noises with the sound of Alexis' soft voice singing lullabies to him when he cried. He could remember her voice perfectly and imagined her singing to him through the sharp pains.

Just a little while longer and he would be with his family, and nothing would hurt him again. He was pulled out of his thoughts for a moment when the pain intensified and Rick's movements became harsher before stopping abruptly. He cried out and tried in vain to move his body from underneath the mans heavy weight.

Finally Rick rose from the bed and zipped himself up before leaving the room, closing and locking it behind him.

Spencer quickly worked through the pain and put his clothes back on. He could feel new bruises blooming around his body and his head was dizzy and pained. He laid back down on the bed and covered his now clothed body with the blanket. He closed his eyes, pushing out tears as he let his thought drift back to the people that loved him. After a few minutes he could hear Alexis' voice again as he fell asleep.

"Hush little baby don't you cry,

Lexi's gonna sing you a lullaby.

No one can hurt you ever again.

There are only good people in heaven."

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"Damn it! What are we supposed to do?" Riley asked panicked.

"We have to go get him! We have to help!"

"And how are we supposed to do that? Huh?!" Zachary asked. "We've done this a hundred times before. No one ever listens to us!" Zachary shouted. "Besides, at this point all that's gonna happen is he'll go to another home and go through the same shit with someone new. Our plan will be ruined and we'll all just suffer until we die."

Riley wanted to argue, but he knew it was the truth. Even if they stopped Mr. Lambson from hurting Spencer now, they would all still suffer in the future.

"It's probably over by now anyway." Zachary said, his voice deep and angry.

They both stood in regretful silence before heading back into the school.

"You should stay here with me tonight. We'll have to hide out until they lock the school up. I'll show you where." Riley was more than happy to stay the night in the school instead of going home to meet the end of an angry fist. He just wished Spencer was here with them so they could say goodbye and get on with it. The sooner this was over the better.

Zachary had been sleeping in the school on and off for a long time. Ethan, and Riley had both slept there several times in the past. Even Spencer stayed once. But it wasn't worth the trouble he got in the next night, so he never stayed again.

They entered the library and climbed up one of the bookshelves through a loose panel in the ceiling. There were blankets and jackets from the lost and found and everything Zachary owned hidden up there. It was flat, solid and safe and at this point Zachary was happy to call it home.

They laid in the ceiling quietly, constantly looking to their phones to see if Spencer had messaged again. They were to afraid to contact him in case they got him into trouble for having a phone. They waited for hours without word and eventually both fell into fitful sleep.

They didn't wake until morning, when Zachary's cell phone alarm went off. They had two hours before school started and Spencer still hadn't messaged them. They climbed out of the ceiling and out a window before any teachers came into the library. As soon as they were outside they took off hurrying to Spencer's house.

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 **Authors note::**

 **I hope you're all enjoying the story so far. As promised you got to see more of Spencer this time and I assure you his troubles only get worse... because I'm evil. So for you tragedy seekers, l hope you're happy! Please read and review! Thanks for the follows and very encouraging. I'll have a new chapter up for you all in about a week. Happy reading. :)**


	5. Loosing It

**Authors note::**

 **Here we are back at the beginning of the story. This chapter has more detail than the prologue. I hope you're all enjoying the story so far! I'll be posting again in about a week so please keep up the reviews and let me know what you think! Happy Reading!**

 **WARNINGS! This chapter has some descriptions of abuse. Read with caution. Rated M for a reason. You have need warned.**

Chapter 5: Loosing It

Spencer woke with pained whine. He turned in his bed to see the sun fighting to shine into the boarded window. He slowly forced himself to sit up, careful of the pain in his ribs and his rear. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and looked at his bruised arms. Closing his eyes tightly, he tried to block out the memories of the night before and the hurt he felt for not being able to end it before he was taken again.

He hoped his door would be unlocked soon. He wanted to leave here and never come back. He never wanted to see Rick or Wanda again, and now he knew he wouldn't have to. Today was the day he would leave this world behind. And he was more than ready. He was eager to end his pain.

The click of the timer unlocking his door brought him out of his thoughts. He stood slowly, fighting off a vicious wave of nausea and opened the door before making his way down the stairs. His foster parents were likely still asleep so he moved quickly and quietly to avoid waking them.

The moment he stepped out the front door, he felt free. A simple smile graced his lips as he walked away from the house, knowing he would never have to go back. Knowing that after today, he would never suffer again.

He was only a few blocks away from the school when he remembered to take out his cell phone and turn it on. He was about to text Riley and Zachary but before he could even open his messenger he heard them shouting his name and running towards him on the next street. He turned and waited for them to reach him.

Riley grabbed him tightly and pulled him into a hug. Zachary was just a step behind.

"We were lookin everywhere for you! What happened Hush? Are you okay?" Zachary asked reaching forward to push the hair out of Spencer's face.

Spencer just shook his head, silent tears breaking free from his brown eyes.

"How bad?" Riley asked with guilt painting his features.

Spencer wiped his tears away and opened and closed his mouth a few times before deciding to sign instead. 'I'm okay.' Riley and Zachary exchanged worried glances for a moment, not believing him at all.

Spencer bit his lip and shrugged his shoulders, wanting desperately to change the subject.

'I have to go to the bathroom.' Spencer signed, barely lifting his hands.

Zachary looked to Riley for an explanation.

"Bathroom." Riley said simply, putting an arm around Spencer. "Come on let's get you cleaned up." Zachary went on the other side of Spencer and took his backpack to carry for him.

The school was just down the street and when they got there the doors were unlocked. They had about an hour before school started. They headed to the boys locker room, carefully avoiding any teachers along the way.

Riley helped Spencer use the bathroom and get out of his dirty clothes, trying to ignore how thin he was and how deep his bruises were. The specks of blood in his underwear made Riley cringe. He averted his eyes and bit his tongue. He was so angry he could scream, but he couldn't let Spencer see that.

Zachary came around the corner with a towel and some clothes from the lost and found, as well as a pair of Spencer's own boxers from his backpack. They left Spencer and sat on a bench just around the corner from the showers to give him some privacy. They glanced at each other every now and then, feeling sorry for the bruises that covered their young friends body and feeling guilty that nothing they said or did could make it better.

Finally Spencer emerged from the shower room fully dressed with a faded long sleeve pullover and black jeans covering every shade of bruising on his body. His walking was stiff and pained and he was obviously exhausted.

Spencer came over and sat in between them on the bench. Zachary handed him a bag of Doritos and a banana from his bag but Spencer didn't eat. He was ridiculously thin and Zachary worried he would make himself sick.

"Hey. Eat that." Zachary encouraged, but Spencer made no move to eat. "I'm sorry he hurt you again Hush... We'll sneak out of school early today just in case he comes to pick you up again."

"Why don't we just leave school now and get it over with?" Riley asked in a broken voice.

Before he was answered the looker room door opened and group of boys from the football team walked in, laughing loudly.

They all stood quickly and made their way to the door before being stopped.

"Well well, what's this?" Mike laughed. He was obviously the leader of this group of bullies.

"Who said you losers could be in here?"

Riley tried to push past them but was shoved into the wall by one of the bigger guys.

Spencer's eyes widened and his breathing picked up. These were the same guys that stripped him naked and tied him up on the field. That was the first time he met Ethan and Brooklyn. He couldn't help but think that if they were still here, there wouldn't be a problem. No one ever messed with Ethan.

"Come on you dick, just let us go!" Zachary demanded, not quite prepared for the punch that came his way. "Who are you callin a dick Zach? Last I heard you were the one givin it out."

The other boys laughed. "So what's this, your little boy toy." Mike asked, looking to Spencer.

"Leave him alone!" Riley yelled, trying to push himself off the wall.

Mike roughly grabbed Spencer by the arm but let go when he let out an ear piercing scream and pulling free and sinking to the floor. All Spencer could think was, _'Don't touch me, don't touch me, don't touch me!'_

Zachary pushed back his own surprise and used Spencer's distraction to his advantage by punching Mike in the face hard enough to make him stumble back over a bench before hitting the floor. Just as one of Mike's goons stepped toward him, Zachary flipped open his knife. He'd had enough of this. "Back up!" Zachary yelled, and everyone froze. Then he looked to the guy pining Riley to the wall. "Let him go!"

As soon as Riley was free he ran over to Spencer who was still on the the floor rocking back and forth. Spencer screamed again when Riley touched him and he pushed his friend away with what little strength he had. In Spencer's mind Riley was a threat. He was being beaten and touched and every noise was too loud. He whimpered and rocked himself trying to force away the electrifying flashes of terrible memories.

They weren't terribly surprised that Spencer finally panicked. It was only a matter of time before he couldn't take anymore. Riley felt ready to break down, and if the knife in Zachary's hand was anything to go by, he was about to lose it too. They need to leave the school and do this now. Enough waiting. It was time to end it.

Riley whispered gently to Spencer and tried touching him again. After a minute of rubbing soothing circles on his back, he successfully got him standing up.

At that, Zachary turned back to the football players pointing his knife in a threatening manner. "We've been through enough shit, we don't need any from you. You ever touch any of us again and I'll gut you like a fish!" The jocks eyes were wide with surprise and fear. He kicked Mike who was still on the ground and lead Riley and Spencer past them, only putting his knife away when they were out of the locker room.

They guided Spencer to the doors when suddenly Zachary spotted a black SUV pulling into the lot, carrying the agents they spoke to yesterday. Without thinking he pushed Riley and Spencer the other way and Spencer started screaming again. Zachary quietly cursed himself for the sudden movement.

Ms. Franklin came rushing out from the office toward them.

"What on earth happened?! Why did he scream?" She asked. Not waiting for an answer she said, "Go and get Ms. Kate right away. Go on now!" She demanded when neither boy made to move. And she guided a hysterical Spencer down the hall to the office.

Riley and Zachary had no idea what to do. They had never seen Spencer so upset and scared. They quickly decided on Riley waiting outside the office to see what happened with Spencer and Zachary went to his first class to seem less suspicious. A few minutes later Riley arrived in the office with Ms. Kate but Ms. Franklin shooed him away, promising that Spencer would be taken care of.

The school bell rang and he saw the agents walking towards the stairs with Principle Bloodsoe. He turned the other way before he was seen and waited around a corner, hoping and praying that Spencer would be sent to class soon.

Inside the office, Spencer's face was wet with tears and his breathing was fast, making him more and more light headed in his panic. He could barely make out Ms. Kate's soothing words, but one terrifying sentence rung louder than anything he had ever heard.

"I'll go call his parents." Mrs. Franklin said.

And that was the last thing he heard before the darkness filled his vision.

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Morgan and Blake had only talked to three freshmen that morning before they met a boy named Yaniv. He knew Alexis from a group home and she told him that she was planning on going away with her friends. She had asked if he wanted to come with her but he turned down her offer. Yaniv said that she was the nicest person in the world, but at times she didn't make any sense.

She often mumbled to herself and she was always paranoid, so he didn't take what she said seriously. He thought she was talking about running away, until she started talking about heaven. Even then he wondered if what she was saying was just in her imagination.

Morgan asked him if Alexis ever talked about her friends, or mentioned their names. Yaniv said her best friend was Brooklyn, whom he only met a few times. Other than that, she always talked about a little brother named Hush and very disturbed kid named Bell.

"Bell? Did she mean Zachary Bell?" Morgan asked.

"I dunno. I've never met him before." Yaniv replied.

Morgan opened a photo of Zachary on his phone to show to Yaniv.

"Oh yeah. I think they ate lunch together sometimes, so maybe."

Morgan and Blake exchanged a knowing look before dismissing Yaniv and asking Mr. Bloodsoe to take them to Zachary's class room before excusing himself to take care of another matter. They didn't want to risk him running off, so they walked to the classroom and guided the teen back into the teachers lounge.

Morgan cut straight to the chase. "Did you know Brooklyn Pines?"

"Yeah, that was Ethan's girlfriend." Zachary answered nervously.

"What about Alexis Pace?" Morgan asked.

Zachary shook his head, not trusting himself to speak.

"Another student tells us that you ate lunch with Alexis sometimes. That isn't true?" Blake asked. Zachary hesitated before saying, "There are only so many tables in the lunch room. I sit by kids I don't know all the time."

"Look kid, we know you're hiding something." Morgan said firmly. "Alexis had a friend that she called Bell, and we think she was talking about you." Zachary didn't respond.

Blake spoke next saying, "She also had a friend named Hush. Do you know who that is?" Zachary put his head down and sighed, but didn't answer.

"Did you know Ethan was going to kill himself?" Morgan asked, his expression hard.

Zachary looked up at him and frowned. There was no way he was getting out of here without telling the truth. He swallowed hard and answered, "Yes. I did."

"Why didn't you tell anyone? I thought you were friends." Morgan confused and a little surprised at his honest response.

Zachary let out a sarcastic ghost of a laugh.

"Tell who, agent Morgan? Our parents? Our social workers? This is their fault!"

His expression was getting angry now and he could feel himself loosing his grip.

"Do you really think anyone would have listened? Do you think anyone would've given a shit?! No! No one has ever helped us before so why would they wanna help now?!"

Morgan and Blake knew then that this was the lead they were looking for.

"You said us. Does that mean you've asked for help before?" Blake asked.

Zachary didn't answer. He didn't even move. So she asked him another question.

"Are you planning on killing yourself too?"

"Why would I do that when my life is so great?" Zachary replied sarcastically.

Blake stepped closer to him and spoke softly. "Zachary, I know this isn't easy, but we can protect you if you're being hurt. All you have to do is tell us what's going on."

"That's bull shit and you know it. People always promise me it will get better but it never does! I've been to more foster homes than I can count, each one worse than the last. And I'm not the only one." He paused as if to catch his breath. "Most of my friends had it a lot worse than me. I miss them, and I wish they could've stayed..." Zachary's voice chocked up and un-fallen tears welled in his eyes. "but sometimes that isn't an option."

"Did you and your friends make plans to do this together?" Morgan asked sadly.

Zachary knew he couldn't convince them that he wasn't involved. They were good at what they did, and it was too late to change their minds. At least now he could explain why they had to do this.

"What an idea, eh agent Morgan? You have it all figured out." He shook his head and wiped his eyes before any of his angry tears could fall. " Maybe now things can change. Maybe in the future, all you wise ass adults can get together and actually save lives instead of just passing them around from one hell to the next. Our lives are worthless now. We'll never be what we want, because the world has already crushed us into nothing."

"Who else is in your group?" Morgan asked sternly.

Zachary shook his head. "I'm the last one."

Morgan glared at the kid. Just when they were finally getting the truth he started lying again.

"You're lying. You said 'we' and 'us'. And if you were really the last one we would have found your body last night."

Blake interjected, "What about Hush? Are you going to tell us who it is so we can help them?"

Zachary looked away, and said nothing.

Morgan let out a low sigh.

"Look kid, we're gonna take you into protective custody and..."

Zachary interrupted Morgan mid sentence. "No! No one is hurting me. I'm eighteen and I don't even belong to the system anymore. I'm finally safe! You have to let me go!"

"So you can end it?!" Morgan yelled, trying to keep his anger in check.

"What good is being safe and free if you're planning on throwing it away? Three of you friends are dead Zachary. The rest of you can be saved if you help us. You don't have to die!" Morgan's voice raised again in the end, making Riley flinch.

"Morgan." Blake glared at him before facing Zachary. "Please let us help you."

Zachary wanted to believe them so badly. He wanted to have hope that things could be better. But he just couldn't. I was too late. Half of his friends were broken and the other half were already dead. He knew Spencer would be killed eventually and Riley had already tried to commit suicide on his own. No. They would do it together just like they planned.

Just then Principle Bloodsoe opened the door and Zachary bolted past him.

"Shit!" Morgan said running through the door, almost knocking Mr. Bloodsoe to the floor.

He followed the kid through the halls, running as fast as he could.

Zachary swung around a corner and jetted down the next hall. He heard agent Morgan yelling for him to stop, his heavy footfalls getting closer to him. He had to lose this guy, and he knew just how to do it.

He ran through a door on his right and slid just behind it, waiting. In moments agent Morgan ran into the small room before running head on into a wall of shelves and hitting the floor. He obviously didn't expect to have to stop. Riley winced at the agents pain and darted back out the door, effectively locking the agent inside the dark room. This storage closet was off limits to students until the door was replaced. It could only be opened from the outside. A teacher locked himself in a few weeks ago and it hadn't been used since.

Finally rid of his chaser, Zachary ran down the hall and out the side doors. He didn't stop moving until he came to the park that Riley and Spencer met at every morning, almost two miles away. He hid by the trees just in case, but he was sure he wasn't followed.

Once he caught his breath, he checked his phone, immediately seeing a message from Riley.

 _'We've got trouble. Where are you?' He read._

 _'I'm at the park. Those agents caught me so I had to run. What happened?'_

 _'He passed out and they called that crazy bitch to come pick him up!'_

 _'We have to go get him! Come to the park and make sure you're not followed. The cops don't know about you and Hush but you still have to be careful.'_

 _'Okay I'll be there as soon as I can.'_


	6. Broken

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 **WARNINGS! This chapter has some descriptions of abuse. Read with caution. Rated M for a reason. You have been warned.**

Chapter 6: Broken

Blake went running down the hallway behind Morgan and stopped when she heard loud banging and shouting from behind a door.

"Morgan?" Blake asked, reaching for the door ready to attack if necessary.

"Blake! Let me out!" Morgan shouted.

Blake stepped forward and twisted the knob and yanked hard.

Morgan stepped out breathing heavily and Blake gave him a curious look.

"What?" Morgan asked with a furrowed brow.

"Nothing..." Blake shook her head. "I've just never seen anyone outrun you before."

"Oh come on Blake cut me a break will ya?"

"I'm also a little surprised you didn't just break the door down." She teased.

"You know I'm just a man right?!"

Mr. Bloodsoe finally came rushing down the hall to meet them.

"What's going on?" He demanded. "What have you done with Zachary?"

"Done?" Morgan almost shouted. "He locked me in a closet man! He took off!"

"Zachary is part of the suicide pact." Blake explained. "We need to find him before it's too late. Do you have any idea where he would go?"

"No but Mrs. Franklin might have an idea." He said, walking back down the hall toward the office. "She's actually our guidance counselor but she's been working in the office the last few days."

Mr. Bloodsoe walked up to Mrs. Franklin as soon as they stepped into the office. A young woman stood next to her looking quite rattled and upset.

"Has he gone home?" Mr. Bloodsoe asked loudly. The young woman nodded and started gathering her things to leave.

"That's good." Mr Bloodsoe said. Then he turned to Mrs. Franklin. "Zachary has left the school. Do you know where he may have gone?"

"Maybe the basketball court? He played there with Ethan all the time until… Well… Why did he leave the school?" Mrs. Franklin asked.

Morgan and Blake glanced at one another and Morgan turned to Mrs. Franklin saying, "Zachary is part of a suicide pact. It's very important that we find out where he's going so we can stop any more kids from dying."

"Oh my god!" Mrs. Franklin gasped.

The woman next to her looked startled. But said nothing.

"And to think I just saw him this morning!" Mrs. Franklin shook her head.

"What was his behavior like? Did he say anything to you?" Blake asked.

"I didn't pay him much attention. I'm so sorry! I was trying to help another boy that was with him. The poor thing was having a terrible panic attack."

"What boy?" Morgan asked with wide eyes.

"Spencer. He's my student." The other woman said. Her voice was strange and lispy, and she moved her hands when she spoke. She noticed the strange look she got from the broad black man in front of her and she tapped the side of her head saying, "Cochlear Implant. I was born deaf."

The man nodded his understanding and Mr. Bloodsoe stepped forward to introduce them.

"Agents, this is Ms. Kate. She's one of our special education teachers. These are special agents Morgan and Blake. They've been trying to find out why so many kids from this school have died just this week."

"Can you tell us about Spencer?" Blake asked, signing to her at the same time.

Ms. Kate smiled, pleasantly surprised to see this woman speaking with her.

"Spencer is a very special boy. He's extremely smart but also extremely sensitive. His autism makes it very difficult to communicate with people but he responds very well to sign language. He's very easily overwhelmed by sounds and touches and he has a lot of nervous tics. This morning he had a major panic attack and Mrs. Franklin sent the boys to come get me."

"The boys? Who else was with Zachary?"

Mrs. Franklin cut in, knowing Ms. Kate wouldn't have the answer. "Riley Jenkins was with him." Her eyes went wide at the realization. "Didn't you talk to him yesterday too?" She asked frantically.

"Yes, and we need to talk to Riley again right away." Blake answered.

"He isn't here anymore... He never went to class." Mrs. Franklin said with a frown.

"Well maybe we can talk to Spencer now. He may be able to tell us where the other boys are. Where is he now?" Blake asked.

"His mother came to pick him up. Spencer passed out during his panic attack so I think they were headed to the hospital to get him checked out." Mrs. Franklin answered and Ms. Kate nodded.

Morgan pulled out his phone and stepped away to call Garcia, while Blake continued speaking with the others. "Where would Riley have gone?" She asked.

Ms. Kate started speaking and signing. "What if he went to check on Spencer? He seemed nervous and worried about him and they happen to be very close. Based on their friendship I'm not surprised Riley left the school."

"They spend a lot of time together?" Blake asked.

"Yes. Riley walks into school with Spencer every day and comes to my classroom after school so they can walk home. I think they live near each other." Ms. Kate answered.

Blake nodded in understanding before seeing Morgan ending his call. He gestured to her and they stepped into the side office to speak privately.

"I think we have our next victim." Morgan said as he put away his phone.

"Spencer's mother died some years ago and no one seems to know who his father is. He has no other living relatives so he's been in foster care since he was seven years old. He was removed from three homes due to abuse charges and bounced around group homes and temporary places ever since. Now he lives with Richard and Wanda Covey. He didn't show up on our list before because Richard officially adopted him a couple months ago. Paperwork just got cleared."

Blake shook her head. "I don't see how a child with his issues can even consent to something like this. I think we should go to the hospital and speak with Spencer." She pulled out her phone, "I'll call Hotch and see what he says."

"We need to find Riley and Zachary too." Morgan said. "They know we're close to stopping them so there's no telling what they might do."

"Thank you for all of your help." Blake said with a smile as they passed by the sad and worried looking staff. They left quickly, hoping they could find the boys before it was too late to help them.

Little did they know, two bodies already lay bloody and unmoving at the Covey house, and they were already running out of time.

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Wanda was good at faking love and concern, but Spencer knew they weren't going to the hospital, despite what he told Ms. Kate. Not that he really wanted to go to the hospital. They were cold and bright and just thinking about going made his heart ache for his mother. Besides, it wasn't the first time he had fainted.

He sat still and quiet, nervously picking at his nails. He was still lightheaded from passing out, and he felt confused and scared. He wanted to be with his friends, whom he knew would keep him safe. He could barely remember Ms. Kate walking him to the car and waving him goodbye with a worried smile. He couldn't decide if it was better or worse that Wanda picked him up instead of Rick. But he had a feeling he would soon find out.

The ride to the house was awkwardly silent and Spencer knew that meant trouble. As soon as the car was in park, Wanda got out and walked around to Spencer's door and yanked him out with a bruising grip. Once inside, the door slammed, making Spencer jump. He looked toward his foster mother, waiting for instructions.

"Look at me." She demanded.

Spencer fiddled with his sleeves for a moment before slowly looking up at her face.

"I said, look at me!" She yelled.

Spencer's shoulders tensed and his hands fisted, nails digging into his palms.

It took everything in him not to shake his head. She hated it when he did that.

Finally he managed to meet her gaze but couldn't maintain eye contact for more than a moment, and in that brief moment, Wanda swung forward and slapped him with such force that he fell to the floor. He grunted as he hit the hardwood and automatically curled in on himself, closing his eyes and covering his ears.

He couldn't handle this. He was too overwhelmed! He wasn't even supposed to be here!

His eyes were closed tight but he heard a small rattle and knew exactly what was coming. He lurched to the side with the first vicious slam of the belt on his back. He gasped and wailed with every hit to his frail body. He kept his eyes closed and ears covered from her harsh words.

After several hits he was suddenly pulled up by the back of his shirt and dragged toward the laundry room. He shook his head fiercely and tried to pull away, earning him a harsh push into the wall. He had barely hit the floor when he was yanked up again, this time by his hair. He wanted to beg Wanda to let him go, but he couldn't manage to form a single coherent word.

"It's not enough that you stole my husband you're trying to make me lose my job too!" She shouted, yanking his hair harder.

Wanda opened the door to the laundry and forced the boy into the large dryer before slamming it closed. His long slender legs felt cramped in the small space and the welts on his bruised back burned in protest.

Spencer screamed when she turned the dryer on. He cried at the pain of being tossed about in the dryer and the intense heat he could feel burning strait through to his skin. His head felt ready to explode and his stomach clenched and turned.

Just when he started to think he would die there, the door was finally opened and he was pulled out and dumped onto the floor, his head slamming into the tile. Black dots filled his vision. He turned on his side, gasping for breath until at last his stomach had had enough and he vomited on the floor.

"It's no wonder nobody kept you." Wanda looked down at him with disgust and said, "I can't wait for Rick to be through with your sorry ass! Now get upstairs and get cleaned up. Rick's on his way home and he's not happy about the scene you made today." she roughly pulled him up so he was sitting on his knees and left him heaving on the floor.

Hearing that Rick was on his way made the dam break. He never wanted to see that man again. Spencer knew that Wanda was right. No one wanted him. Once Rick was done with him, he would go to a new home with new abusers.

He didn't understand how the only person that ever loved him, could just leave him to this horrible life. For the first time ever, he thought about his mother with anger instead of longing. The loss felt fresh and raw. It wasn't fair that he had to be alone and abused. It wasn't fair that she had died and left him to this hell.

His body shook with powerful sobs and tears ran down his face unchecked. He didn't understand how his heart didn't explode from grief at that moment. "Shut the hell up and get upstairs!" Wanda yelled.

Her loud voice echoed in his ears, and he touched the side of his head where he had hit the floor. He brought his hand back with a bit of blood on it.

He leaned forward on his hands steadying himself to push to his feet. After a few tries, Spencer stood and slowly made his way past her without incident and stumbled up the stairs to his room. Once inside he grabbed his pillow and bit into it, screaming with all his might and crying uncontrollably. He had never felt so broken.

The noisy sobs racked his body and his ribs ached with every wild breath. No more. Please no more! He wanted to disappear. But he couldn't die here. Not in this house!

After a few minutes, Spencer pulled the pillow from his face and tried to slow his breathing. The last thing he wanted to do was pass out again. He wiped away his tears only to have new ones fall I their place. He pulled out his phone, calling Riley. He knew Riley would come right away if he called, because he never spoke.

Riley answered frantically. "Spence?!"

 _'Come get me! Please come get me!'_ Spencer thought with all his might.

He just cried into the phone unable to say a word.

"We're coming Spence, Okay? We'll be there as fast as we can!"

Spencer sighed in relief. He could tell that Riley was doing his best to stay calm and encourage him. He spoke softly and confidently, promising that they were coming.

Spencer suddenly dropped the phone, startled when Wanda burst through his bedroom door.

Spencer stood quickly but it was too late.

"What the hell are you doing with a phone?!", Wanda shouted, slamming the door and pushing him to the side. She picked up the phone, ended the call and threw it against the wall angrily. Spencer bolted for the door but Wanda grabbed him by the hair and slammed him against the wall, hard!

Before he could even think to move, he was pushed to the floor and kicked, again and again. The pain in his chest and his ribs made breathing next to impossible and with one last kick to the head, his head snapped to the side with a sickening crack, making his vision fade out. The beating suddenly stopped and large gentle hand touched the side of his face. He tried to pull away but the hand moved and suddenly he was being lifted in the air and set gently onto his bed.

He heard angry voices and tried hard to make out what they were saying.

"If you ever touch him again you'll live to regret it!" Rick growled.

"Oh like you don't 'touch him'?! Go to hell Rick!" Wanda shouted. "He's a broken doll! Leave it to you to bring home a total retard to play with! Is your corporate job really so dull that your money, your house and your WIFE aren't enough to make you happy?!"

"Get the hell out of here you crazy bitch! Don't you realize you could have killed him?! What good would our lives be in a jail cell you dumb broad?!" Rick yelled.

The shouting was overwhelming to Spencer. He just wanted them to go away and leave him to his pain. He breathed slowly and painfully, doing his best to tune out the noise and the pain. After a few more minutes of their argument, their voices began to muffle and fade. It hurt to move. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to think. And just as the blackness started to take him over, he heard a door slam, and felt the bed dip at the added weight of another person.

Fingers began stroking through his hair and he opened his eyes slightly to see Rick looking down at him with concern painting his features. Spencer moaned. He didn't want the man to touch him, but he didn't have the energy to move himself away. He was too tired to even open his eyes. He groaned and shut out the tears of pain and frustration threatening to spill from his closed lids.

"Shhh. It's okay baby. I'm so sorry." Rick said in a low whisper. The he leaned down and kissed Spencer's forehead, then his temple, and his cheek. Just as Rick was about to kiss the boys trembling lips, the bedroom door burst open again, and Rick shot up in surprise.

Spencer opened his eyes and carefully looked to the doorway. Relief swept him at who he saw.

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 **AUTHORS NOTE::**

Hello readers! Thanks so much for your patience. I'm sorry if my last chapter disappeared for a bit but I think I'm getting a lot better at using the site! Thank you for the follows and favorites! Please review and I'll see you again next week! Enjoy!


	7. Get Out Alive

**WARNINGS! This chapter has some descriptions of violence, blood and death. Read with caution. Rated M for a reason. You have been warned.**

Chapter 7: Get Out Alive

Riley took off running as soon as Spencer's phone disconnected. He heard Wanda yelling and knew there was trouble. He wasn't far from the park where Zachary was waiting, but every step seemed not to take him far enough.

Minutes later he reached the park and immediately found Zachary standing by asking,

"What's wrong?"

"He called me and I think he's in trouble!" Riley shouted.

"Wait who called you?.. Hush?" Zachary asked confused.

"Who the hell else would I be talking about?!"

"Well did he say anything?!" Zachary asked turning away from the park and briskly walking toward Spencer's current home."

"No but I could hear him crying and Wanda was yelling. He only calls when there's an emergency! Somethings really wrong!"

That was more than enough information for Zachary. They took off running the last few blocks, having no idea what they would find when they reached the house. But they didn't bother thinking about it. They just kept running hoping they made it there before something really bad happened.

Before they knew it, they were sprinting up to the front door, and Zachary turned the knob, relived to find it unlocked. They quietly stepped into the living area and Riley closed the door behind them.

As they listened, they heard a man and woman arguing upstairs. The boys looked to each other and knew not to move. Running up the stairs to face both of Spencer's abusers at the same time was unlikely to end well for them.

Moments later a door slammed, and angry feet patted down the stairs. They ran to a corner, just out of sight of the stair case and saw a woman with long blonde hair reaching the main floor. This must be Wanda.

She walked past the boys, not noticing their presence at all. She lit a cigarette and pushed her messy hair away from her face, with a hand speckled in blood they were sure was not her own. She closed her eyes, enjoying her first drag.

Zachary decided it was the perfect time to make a move. He signaled Riley to stay put, and crept up behind her as he pulled out his knife.

Riley's eyes widened.

But to his relief, Zachary kept the knife closed and instead used the handle to strike the woman in the back of the head with force. With a surprised grunt, she fell to the floor and passed out cold.

Zachary nudged her with his foot to make sure she was really unconscious. Once he was sure, he walked over to her fallen cigarette and stepped out the flame.

He nodded to Riley who quietly moved to follow him up the stairs.

Once they reached the top, they heard a quiet voice, but couldn't make out what it was saying.

Zachary pulled open his knife, tightly gripping the handle with the blade facing out dangerously. The boys shared nervous glances and nodded to one another before Zachary burst through the door, Riley only a step behind him.

What they saw made Zachary's blood boil, and Riley's mouth fell open in disgust.

The man they knew as Spencer's foster father Rick, was standing over their injured friend with his shirt half unbuttoned and a hand rested on his waistband. Rick looked shocked and caught red handed.

"Get the hell away from him!" Riley shouted from just behind Zachary, who was holding his knife out in a threatening manner. They both looked ready to attack at any moment.

Spencer smiled faintly, and let his eyes close again and his body relax into the soft bed.

Riley ran around the opposite side of the bed while Zachary kept his eyes on Rick, just waiting for him to make a move. "Who the hell are you?! Get out of my house!" Rick yelled and took a quick step forward.

Zachary boldly stepped forward too, and kicked the man between the legs. Rick stumbled back, grumbling curses and pressing his hands to the bulge in his pants.

"Shut up and don't move!" Zachary shouted, staring with dark eyes. Rick stilled once again and put one of his hands up in defense, eyeing the large knife with worry. He looked over to the other boy that had broken into his house.

"Hey Hush." Riley said quietly as he approached the bed, petting Spencer's head. "We're gonna get you out of here okay?" There was no response. He hadn't even opened his eyes.

"Spence? Spencer?! You need to wake up!" Riley yelled. The only response he got was a low moan. Riley took his hand away from Spencer's head and turned to face Zachary with horror in his eyes. "He's head is bleeding!" he said as he held out his hand, partially covered with blood

Zachary's eyes grew wide and he looked to Rick with a fury that Riley had ever seen from him before. "What did you do to him you sick pervert?!" Zachary yelled.

Rick moved to tackle Zachary and in seconds he was across the room knocking him to the ground. Zachary held out the knife in defense, driving it into to wicked mans gut as they fell.

Rick gasped and yelled in pain as he fell off of Zachary in a miserable heap. He shouted and cursed, calling out to Wanda to help him. Riley looked on in horror, but didn't leave Spencer's side.

Zachary stood up shakily, in shock at what had just happened. He looked to Riley for a moment before taking in Spencer's beaten and bloody body. There were a few weeping scratches around the boy's face, no doubt from Wanda's nails striking him. He could hear Spencer's wheezing and heavy breathing from where he stood. He watched a shiver run through Spencer, and heard his fearful whimper as Riley set a comforting hand on his arm.

Something broke inside Riley at that moment and angry tears welled in his eyes. He looked to Rick with rage and lunged toward the man on the floor with a growl, pulling out his knife and plunging it back in.

"Go to hell you son of a bitch!" Zachary shouted, stabbing Rick over and over.

Riley froze and shook with fright. He was worried that Spencer was unconscious, but he was happy that he wasn't awake to see this.

Rick was gasping and gurgling with wide terrified eyes. Blood pooled around his shaking body, but Zachary didn't stop. Specks of blood hit Zachary's face and jacket, and his hands were covered in deep red. His eyes were wide but vacant and he grunted loudly with each vicious swing of his knife.

Once Riley finally managed to move, he ran around the bed and grabbed Zachary's arm before it plunged down again. "Stop Zach! Please stop! He's dead!" Riley cried, frightened tears wetting his cheeks.

Zachary yelled in frustration, throwing the knife across the room. Sure enough when he looked down, the large mans eyes were closed, and his breathing had stopped. He quickly stumbled back in panic until his back hit a wall. He looked at his blood cover hands and back to the horrible man that he had just killed.

 _'I killed him.'_ Zachary though numbly. He shut his eyes tight and tried to focus on steadying his rapid breathing.

"We have to go Zach. I don't wanna be here. Please." Riley said looking to Spencer. "He can't die here! Not in this house... We have to get him out."

Zachary sat for a moment trying to collect himself as fast as he could. Then he wiped his bloody hands on his jeans and swiped at his teary eyes with the back of his hand.

When he finally stood, Riley was sitting on the edge of the bed lightly shaking Spencer's shoulder. Zachary removed his bloody jacket and dropped it to the floor. Then he walked around to the other side of the bed and gently pulled Spencer into a sitting position. The boy moaned at being moved, and coughed lightly.

Zachary reached and patted his back hard, and the boy coughed roughly several times before his eyes opened and he gaged. He leaned over the bed just enough to hack out a mouthful of blood. "Owww… mmhhh." The boy moaned.

"Oh God. What's wrong with him?" Riley questioned grimly, not expecting and answer.

"Chest hurts…" Spencer said simply. "head hurts." his voice was barely above a whisper.

"Hey Hush. We gotta go okay? Right now." Zachary said softly. Spencer looked up with wet eyes, and nodded in agreement. "Help me get him on my back." Zachary said to Riley, who nodded and moved quickly to the other side of the bed.

With very little trouble, they got Spencer's frail body on Zachary's back, and they all carefully but quickly made their way down the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs, Riley turned to the next room to take the keys off of Wanda's still body. She was obviously alive but unconscious from the hit she took from Zachary.

They went out the front door, and straight to Wanda's BMW. Riley helped Zachary get Spencer into the backseat before climbing in beside him and letting him lean against his side. Then Zachary rushed around to the drivers side and started the car.

"Where are we going?" Riley asked.

Zachary thought for a moment before answering. "We're taking him to his mom. The cemetery isn't far from here by car." He said before stopping at a red light and looking to the backseat. "Hang in there Hush. It's gonna be over soon, you hear me?"

Riley stroked his fingers through the unconscious boys hair and exchanged a teary eyed glance with Zachary.

Zachary fought to block out his overwhelming emotions. He had to be strong now. Riley and Spencer needed him to finish this. He couldn't let Spencer die in pain. He bit back his anger towards Spencer's latest fosters. He couldn't believe they had taken things so far.

He touched his pant pocket and could feel the cold vile of Dilaudid just waiting to be used. No doubt Spencer was in a great deal of pain, but hopefully he would stay asleep and simply drift away once the drug was administered. And Riley would drift off next.

Then this would finally be over.

"It's okay Riley. He won't feel a thing once we get there. And neither will you." Zachary said, facing forward once again and driving through the now green light. "I promise."

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Hotch and Rossi met Blake and Morgan at the hospital. To everyone's surprise, Spencer was not being seen. In fact, he hadn't been to the hospital at all.

"That's odd. The school staff said that the mother was worried about the kid. So why not bring him in like she said she would?" Morgan asked.

"Something's not right here, that's for sure." Rossi stated.

"Lets head over to the Covey house and check things out. Morgan, call Garcia for the address and we'll follow you there." Hotch's said.

With that, they went to their respective cars and took off down the road.

After a ten minute ride, they pulled up to an expensive looking house in a nice neighborhood. A sporty blue Mercedes was parked out front, and Morgan whistled as they walked past it.

Hotch was the first to approach the front door and immediately noticed it was slightly ajar, and a few faded bloody footprints lead away from the house.

He reached for his side arm and put his hand up, signaling the others to be alert and ready for anything. He signaled Morgan to go around back with Blake while Rossi joined him on the small porch.

After seeing his team members disappear around the side of the house, he looked to Rossi who nodded that he was ready.

Hotch pushed the door open and the first thing they saw was the body of a woman laying on the floor, with a head wound. They passed her and cleared the rest of the floor first. Rossi opened the back door for Morgan and Blake, who found nothing suspicious outside or in the cellar out back.

Hotch checked the woman over, seeing that she was unconscious but very much alive.

Then he rose to head up the stairs behind Morgan, leaving Blake and Rossi to keep a lookout on the main floor.

They proceeded with extreme caution, considering the fact that none of them had on safety vests. Hotch and Morgan each walked into open doors on either side of the hall, clearing all but one room on the floor. The last room at the end of the hall was wide open, and they both carefully strode toward it together.

In the middle of the floor, a few short steps from the bed, lay an unmoving man with blood covering his torso. He was obviously dead.

"We're clear!" Hotch yelled. "Call for backup and get up here!"

A few minutes later, sirens were heard outside, and Blake and Rossi came to the bedroom after seeing the injured woman hoisted into an ambulance.

They both stopped just inside the doorway.

"Well this wasn't expected." Rossi stated.

They all took note of the small amounts of blood on the bed, and the footprints on the floor, leading from the dead man, to the side of the bed. The man, whom they discovered was Spencer's adoptive father Rick Covey, was half unbuttoned and his suit jacket, tie and belt lay resting across a lone chair on the side of the bed.

Rossi picked up the bloody jacket and reached in each pocket. Finally he stopped, and pulled out a small note. "Give you three guesses as to what this note says." He said with grim sarcasm, setting the jacket back on the floor. He unfolded the small slip of paper and held it up for his team members to see.

'Death is better, than the hell we lived.'

"So…" Morgan stepped forward. "Riley and Zachary come to check on their friend, who they know is being abused, and find this asshole probably about to rape, or molest him." He growled.

"The kids get angry, things get out of hand and they protect their friend to the death." Hotch added. "Now they've taken off to end their misery in a place that doesn't house any of their nightmares."

"And where might that be?" Blake asked. "Nothing in any of their lives has ever worked out well for them. So what's a safe place they could go?"

"It has to be places that are important to them. Ethan and Brooklyn were found near a jazz place where Ethan played and Brooklyn was a waitress. Obviously the place meant a lot to them, so they wanted to die close to "home" sort of speak." Morgan explained.

Blake nodded in agreement and said, "Alexis was found in a church. One she spent several nights hiding away in. She wrote a lot about her faith in her journal. That meant enough to her to choose that church to die in."

"So how are we supposed to find out where the rest of these kids feel 'safe'? Especially knowing we're close to finding them, and stopping them from offing themselves! They don't have time to chose different places." Morgan grumbled bitterly. "They could be anywhere."

"We're running out of time. We need to find out where these kids are going. Right now." Hotch said sternly.

Blake walked over to a cracked flip phone, discarded on the floor. She flipped it open and was glad to see that although the screen was damaged, it was still possible to go through the phone. She went to to text messages and read through some of the many conversations. Rossi came and read over her shoulder.

"Guys… Spencer is a lot smarter than we gave him credit for. He's completely aware of the plan and all that it involves. He's definitely a capable and willing member of this suicide pact, and based on these texts, he's the most eager to die."she said sadly.

Rossi reached for the phone and went to the call log, seeing that the last person Spencer spoke to was Riley. He looked to Hotch. "Maybe we can start here?"

Hotch took the phone from him and pressed the call button and put it on speaker. After five rings, the call disconnected.

"No answer, and no voicemail. It's probably a burner phone." Hotch said before looking to Morgan. "Call Garcia and have her trace Riley's location. We know they're all together and it's our best chance of finding the boys."

Morgan nodded and immediately called Garcia on speaker phone.

"Speak and be heard mortals!" She answered in a happy voice.

"Garcia, I need you to get those fingers to work for me baby girl."

"Whatever want sugar, just say the word."

"I need you to track the location of a phone for me right away." Morgan said, all jokes aside. We need this fast Garcia, can you do it?"

"Can I do it?! I know you haven't lost faith in your sparkly princess not have you? Lay it on me hot stuff. You'll be on your way in no time." Garcia replied.

"That's my girl." Morgan said. And he gave her any information she needed and waited for the signal to be traced.

"Okay this is a little toughy so I can't pinpoint the exact spot for you babe, but I can give you a triangulated area about a mile around." Garcia explained.

The agents were already on the move down the stairs and past the LVPD officers that had flooded the scene.

"Alright where are we headed baby girl?" Morgan asked.

"It's.. Oh… It's a cemetery."

The agents all looked nervous. They could be too late, could they?

Morgan said his thanks and hung up with Garcia, quietly jumping into the drivers seat of one of the SUVs, Hotch beside the wheel of the other.

They took off, following the directions given to the, by Garcia, and hoped they found the boys before it was too late.

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 **AUTHORS NOTE::**

Hello readers! Sorry I had to make you wait a bit longer for this chapter. I certainly hope it was worth the wait! Please read and review, review, review! Thanks for the favs and follows! I hope you are all really enjoying the story so far ;-) See you next week!

 **PS** —Who else is excited about the Criminal Minds Season 11 premiere NEXT WEEK?! I really hope this new team member doesn't suck! :-P


	8. Gone

**WARNINGS! Character death, suicide and drug use. Read with caution. Rated M for a reason. You have been warned.**

Chapter 8: Gone

Zachary drove the car up over the curb and onto the grass. He parked as close to Diana Reid's grave as possible before turning the car off and pulling the key out. He looked to the back seat to see Spencer's face scrunched in pain, tears escaping his closed eyes.

Zachary opened the glovebox to search for tissues, which he handed back to Riley. What he also discovered, was a hand gun. While Riley was distracted, he grasped the cold handle and discretely took a look at the weapon. Sure enough it was loaded.

He pocketed the weapon before getting out and walking around the car to carry Spencer. The boys and their friends had been to this cemetery many times to visit their loved ones. Riley's father was buried here, as well as Alexis' biological brother and both of Brooklyn's Parents.

Zachary wished that his mother had been laid to rest here, but the truth was he had no idea where her remains were. She died in a mental hospital, and he imagined that she had been cremated and stored on some shelf like an old pair of shoes. She didn't deserve that.

As much as he had loved his mother, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of anger toward her for leaving him. He could understand why she chose to die. But why? Why didn't she take him with her? How could she just leave him here all alone?

Zachary shook away the thoughts and opened the back door..

Riley looked up to him and then back at Spencer, who was in and out of consciousness against his side.

"He's not doing to good Zach. I think he's in pain." Riley said just as Spencer moved his head and let out a pained moan.

"He won't be for much longer." Zachary said. "Come on. His mom is right over there." Hey said as he leaned down to grab Spencer's wrists and wrap his skinny arms around his broad shoulders. Riley helped to lift the boy onto Zachary's back and they walked across the graveyard until at last they reached Spencer's mother.

"Alright Hush, we're here." Zachary said as he approached the grave. He kneeled down and Riley helped him ease the fragile boy onto the ground. Riley sat with his back against the grave and Spencer's head resting on his lap.

Spencer's eyes slowly opened and he looked around, knowing right away where he was. He smiled up at Zachary. "Thank you." He whispered.

Zachary nodded and smiled back at Spencer. Riley couldn't help but smile too.

Their smiles faded when Spencer coughed roughly, and the two boys moved to sit him up just enough to vomit on the ground next to them.

They exchanged a worried look at the obvious blood that had spilled from their friends mouth.

Spencer groaned and laid back to look at Zachary with desperation. He made a sign with his hands, to out of breath to speak again. This sign the boys knew all too well. _Hurt_.

Zachary nodded, not trusting himself to speak. This was it. He reached in his pants pocket and pulled out a needle and a vile of cool clear liquid. There wouldn't be enough for all three of them, but Zachary had another plan in mind. He filled the syringe with ease and precision. Then, he looked to Riley, and then to Spencer.

"This is gonna make you fall asleep. I promise it won't hurt, and when you wake up, you'll be somewhere new." He gave a sad smile as he watched Spencer and Riley's silent emotional exchange. They always had a way with silent communication. But Zachary knew no words needed to be said.

Riley started softly singing one of Alexis' many lullabies. Spencer closed his eyes, barely hanging onto consciousness. With a small nod from Riley, Zachary slid the needle easily into a vein in Spencer's forearm, administered the drug.

Spencer's eyes opened for a moment before rolling back and fluttering shut again. His body tensed and shook slightly and his breathing sped up for a several moments, before leveling to an agonizingly slow pace. Riley ran his fingers through the smaller boys hair and Riley kept singing to him.

By the time Spencer's face relaxed and his body stilled, Zachary had the same needle filled again and Riley had just reached the end of the little song. Spencer's head was still resting on Riley's lap and Zachary leaned down to kissed his forehead before gently moving him to lay flat on the ground aside his mother grave.

Zachary and Riley looked to one another, and both reached out for a hug at the same time. They held on for a few moments, both afraid and unsure, but somehow at the same time calm and relived.

When the boys pulled away from the hug, they exchanged one last smile. There was no need to say goodbye, because they were doing this together. Wherever or whatever happened next, they would be together.

Zachary injected the rest of the drug into Riley's system and let him rest his head on his shoulder. Eventually he felt Riley's body relax and his breathing slowed as he drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

Zachary slid Riley off of his shoulder to lay on the ground next to Spencer, who was stiller than he had ever seen before. He didn't seem to be breathing anymore, and the realization made him choke, and brought tears to his eyes.

All of his friends were dead.

Ethan. Brooklyn. Alexis. Spencer. Riley.

Gone?

No.

Not gone.

They were at peace.

They were finally free from the suffering this world had caused them. Free from abandonment, and fear. Abuse and pain. It shouldn't have had to be this way. They hadn't deserved to be beaten or raped. Bullied or used. They didn't deserve to die. But they also didn't deserve to keep living through it, when they had each reached their limit long ago.

"Death is better than the hell we lived." Zachary said aloud, with tears making their way down his face.

He pulled the gun out, and pulled the leaver back. He didn't know much of anything about guns, but he was sure he just turned the safety off. He heard sirens in the distance and knew he was running out of time. It was his turn now.

He wiped the tears from his face and took a few deep breaths. Then he slowly closed his eyes and brought the gun up to his temple. With only a moments hesitation, he pulled the trigger.

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 **AUTORS NOTE:** THE END!

Just kidding, I wouldn't do that to you! I know this is a shorter chapter, but I wanted to give you a little something instead of just skipping a week. I have more planned for this story so I hope you are enjoying it so far. Please read and review. I'd love to know what you think and what I can improve on :) Sorry my crazy schedule has knocked my timing off but my goal is to continue posting a new chapter once a week. Thanks so much for the great responses! Xo's


	9. Graveyard

**WARNINGS:: Mentions of child abuse, suicide and death. Language.**

Chapter 9: Graveyard

Morgan and Blake pulled into the cemetery at top speed, with Hotch and Rossi driving just behind them. They drove as far as the road would take them before coming to a stop and getting out. JJ had already informed the station of the teams whereabouts, so her and several officers were on their way to the location. Knowing that backup was on its way, they immediately started searching the grounds"

"This isn't going to be easy." Rossi said. "We don't even know where to start."

For several minutes, their eyes searched the empty fields as they made their way through another part of the cemetery that was surrounded by beautiful trees and hedges.

"We need to move fast." Hotch said. "Let's split up and cover the grounds. When the PD arrives we can…" His sentence was interrupted by the heart stopping sound of a single gunshot.

They all took of running towards the sound, weapons drawn just in case. They split up and searched the area in that direction. Blake rounded a hedge, and was the first to see the blood spattered body of Zachary Bell.

"Over here!" Blake shouted as she put her gun away.

She rushed over to Zachary and checked his pulse. There was none. The boy was without a doubt dead. His body was still and his eyes were closed. His head was bloodied, and a gun lay fallen by his side. On the other side of the boy, laid two more unmoving bodies.

"Damn it." She said sadly. She rushed over to the other boys just as Morgan rounded the corner, followed by Hotch and Rossi.

"Shit!" Morgan growled rushing over to Zachary. "He's dead Morgan." Blake stated matter of factly, as she came to her knees in between the other two boys. She struggled to maintain her composure.

Rossi ran over to Riley's side, and called out to him. As expected, he got no response from the teen. He checked the boys pulse and was relieved to find that he was still alive. His breathing was slow and shallow and his body shook slightly. It didn't look good, but Rossi knew the kid still had a chance.

Rossi looked over Riley's body searching for injuries. He had expected to find a gunshot wound but found nothing of the sort. Remembering how the others had died, he checked the boys inner arm and found a small puncture wound.

"He's overdosed, but otherwise unharmed." Rossi told the others. He pulled out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat from Riley's face before pulling him up to lay against his lap.

At the same time, Blake yelled over Spencer's pale body, "He's not breathing!" His lips were tinted blue and his skin was cold and clammy to the touch. Blake was briefly reminded of her son, Ethan. Loosing him was the hardest thing she could ever endure.

"He's been beaten." Blake said in disgust.

Spencer's face and neck were bruised and some of his hair was clumped together with blood. The palms of his hands looked red and irritated and she had no doubt there were other injuries hidden under the boys clothing.

Morgan ran over to help her while Rossi tried to keep Riley breathing and Hotch left to guide paramedics to the scene.

Morgan leaned over the broken boy and gently placed both hands on his chest. "Come on Blake, you gotta help me!", he shouted.

Blake snapped into action and pinched the boys nose and breathed into his mouth.

A moment later, Morgan started chest compressions. He tried to ignore the crushing feeling of the fragile ribs beneath his hands. He was starting to lose hope in Spencer, but he refused to give up and he knew Blake would kill him if he even considered it.

After another round of CPR showed no change, Hotch came running around the bend with medics rushing around them taking the agent's places.

Zachary was checked over by a woman who looked to be in her fifties. He was officially pronounced dead before being placed in a body bag. The woman then joined the male nurse who was next to Riley placing an oxygen mask over his face. Another male nurse rushed over with a gurney and began to check the boy over.

"Weak pulse. BP is dropping." The second man said. The first man had already gotten an IV started, and they quickly placed the boy on the gurney and took off to the first ambulance with Rossi following behind them.

Two EMTs, a male and a female came to Spencer's side and checked him over. "He's not breathing." The young female said. "No pulse either." She brought out scissors and cut through the front of his shirt, revealing his colorful torso. The boys pale chest was covered in bruises of different shades and colors. Some old and yellowed, and others deep dark purple and blue.

"He has some broken ribs and a collapsed lung." the male nurse said as he placed a resuscitation mask over Spencer's face and began slowly pumping it. Meanwhile the female was connecting several nodes to the boys chest and setting up the defibrillator. The small box displayed flat vital signs that made Blake and Morgan's hearts ache.

"Clear." The female said, and the male moved his hands away as she brought the shocks to the boy's torso. Spencer's body jumped at the first jolt of electricity. The man replaced the mask and began pumping air into Spencer's lungs again.

The female readied the defibrillator again and prepared to shock the frail body a second time. "Clear." The male EMT moved the mask for a moment and the boy's body tensed and jumped, but still there was no change. The female EMT sighed in disappointment and roughly pushed on the boys chest a few times before taking the shocks in hand again.

"Come on kiddo. You have to fight for me okay?", she said firmly. "We can't do this without your help, so be strong and give it your all!" She looked to her partner who nodded, determined to save this kid. After the final shock, the boy's body bucked and he began to choke and shake.

"I need to intubate him!" The male shouted, and the female grabbed hold of the unconscious boy and held him on his side while her parter readied his equipment. She whispered soothing words to Spencer as his body continued shake violently and his eyes were rolled in the back of his head. He gagged and blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth.

Blake walked away shaking her head. She couldn't watch this. Hotch followed her away from the scene after instructing Morgan to stay with Spencer and keep him updated on his condition.

Morgan was briefly distracted by Zachary's body being carried away in a body bag, and another male paramedic approaching their Spencer's side with a gurney.

Once spencer was intubated, they carefully turned the boy on his back, and lifted him onto the gurney before making their way through the cemetery. The male nurse kept pumping air into Spencer's lungs by hand as they walked and Morgan ran just ahead to open the ambulance door.

Once they were all inside, the driver turned on the sirens and sped to the hospital.

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Hotch had Blake ride back to the police station with one of the officers, while he headed to the hospital. Blake could compartmentalize better than most, but he knew how much this case was getting to her. Really, this case was hard on all of them for some reason or another.

Garcia knew what it was like to lose everything and be forced to live in foster care. JJ had lost her older sister to suicide. Blake had lost a son, whom she loved and cherished more than anything in the world. Rossi never had the chance to be a father, because his baby had lived less than a day before he died. Morgan knew the pain of being molested and raped. And Hotch himself, knew what it was like to be beaten by his own father.

The way these children had been treated all their lives hit home for the entire team. To have such horrible life experiences that they decided death was their only way out, was heartbreaking. Especially considering how many couples wanted children but weren't able to produce them. And how many loving homes would happily take such children in. And Hotch couldn't help but feel angry at the whole situation.

When he arrived at the hospital, he wasn't surprised to see Rossi already standing in the waiting room looking out the window, lost in thought. "How's Riley?" Hotch asked. Rossi turned and shrugged his shoulders. "Time will tell. He was alive last I saw him, but his heart… we'll just have to wait and see." He replied.

"Has Morgan showed up yet?" He asked. Rossi just shook his head as he sat down.

An uncomfortable silence hung in the air before Rossi decided to ask, "How's Blake?"

"No worse than you.", was Hotch's answer.

"Or you." Rossi mumbled.

"Or any of us." Morgan said as he entered the room.

Hotch stood aside allowing Morgan to take a seat next to Rossi.

Morgan wiped his hands over his face and let out a deep sigh.

"How's the kid?" Rossi asked.

Morgan shook his head. "It's not good. I don't know if he'll make it.", he said in a broken voice. "I'm not even sure he wants to."

They stayed silent for a time before Hotch spoke up. "Rossi, are you okay to pick up Blake and JJ to get things settled at the Covey house?" Rossi nodded. "Then I want someone to talk to Wanda Covey. She's here in the hospital with a moderate concussion and hasn't woken up yet. I want to know exactly what happened their house today."

"Not a problem." Rossi said as he stood up. "I have a few questions I'd like to ask Mrs. Covey anyways.", he said darkly.

"Keep me updated Rossi." Hotch said as he and Morgan watched him leave the room and make his way down the hall.

Once he was gone, Morgan looked to Hotch and asked, "Is he okay?"

Hotch thought for a moment before asking, "Are you?"

Morgan just shook his head and leaned back in the uncomfortable chair.

Hotch came and sat next to him. Nothing about any of this was okay.

But this was just another case right? So why did it feel like everything was about to change?

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Hours later, a doctor and nurse entered the waiting room, wearing blue scrubs. "Are you the FBI agents?" Hotch stood before Morgan and they both showed their badges. "Yes, I'm Aaron Hotchner and this is Derek Morgan. How are the boys doing?"

The doctor was the first to speak. "I'm doctor Dove and this is my assistant Neely."

Neely then said, "Riley was seriously overdosed on Dilaudid when he came in. He had some complications with his heart, and he stopped breathing for a short time but we were able to stabilize him. He's malnourished and has some superficial bruising here and there, but he'll make a full recovery in time. He also has quite a lot of old scars. Most likely from abusive homes he lived in. Child services will be here to asses the situation before he's discharged."

The agents nodded that they understood, so Dr. Dove continued. "Spencer however is in bad shape. He was severely beaten and suffered from a collapsed lung, which we believe was caused by several blows to the chest. He has several broken and cracked ribs and some internal bleeding. The pressure from the air that escaped was pushing on his heart and caused his lung to deflate. We performed an emergency surgery to repair the lung, and entered a chest tube to drain out any excess air or fluids. We have him on a ventilator until he has the strength to breathe on his own. We'll keep him heavily sedated until we see improvement."

The doctor paused for a moment to be sure the agents were still with him before continuing.

"He has a moderately severe concussion. He needed some stitches but I'm not worried about any long term consequences. We have him on a few medications to help the inflammation around his body as well as the swelling in his brain. Now, I'm sure you've become aware of the abuse that's been going on in his home?"

Morgan frowned, but Hotch spoke before he could. "We did discover evidence of abuse but we don't know to what extent. What haven't you told us?"

The doctor and nurse glanced at one another momentarily before Neely once again spoke up. "Well aside from the beating he has some unusual burns on his hands and arms. His back is a mess of welts and cuts and there's hardly a single part of him that isn't bruised. Unfortunately,the bruises we found on his hips and thighs led us to believe he had been raped. I'm afraid we were right."

Morgan's teeth clenched and he had to control his urge to throw a chair into the wall. He wasn't surprised. He expected this. But it still made his blood boil and his skin crawl.

"He needed some internal stitches, but physically he'll be okay. He just needs plenty of time to recover." Dr. Dove explained. "The drug overdose was serious, but it actually may have been the thing to save his life. His mind and body were under too much stress and the dilaudid relived some of that stress and slowed his heart rate and leveled his breathing. I heard that his heart had stopped at the scene, so it was a close call. But if there are no further complications, I expect a full recovery from Spencer."

"Please tell me you caught the people who did this." Neely begged.

Hotch nodded, "We did." He knew he couldn't give any details about the case, but he was relieved that Rick and Wanda Covey could never hurt another child again.

As much as he wanted to interrogate Wanda himself, he knew this was best left to his team. Any justice this child got would come from whatever Wanda would be sentenced.

If it were up to Hotch, he would sentence her to death. But then again, Rick was already dead. And death was too easy for people like them. They deserved to suffer more than these kids had. But unfortunately, most of them would never have to.

Hotch made up his mind right then and there. If it was the last thing he did, he would get justice for these kids. He would track down every abuser that lead these young people to their deaths and expose them for the monsters that they were. He wouldn't rest until each one was charged.

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AUTORS NOTE:

Hey people! Here's the next chapter for you. I hope you enjoy. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. You're all awesome!

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	10. Investigation

**WARNINGS:: Mentions of child abuse, suicide and death. Language.**

Chapter 10: Investigation

Rossi closed his phone with an irritated grumble and slammed the car door shut. "What's wrong?" JJ asked.

Rossi had gone to pick the girls up from the police station and headed straight for the Covey house, where they were now. "That was Hotch. The boys are holding their own, but Spencer's in bad shape. And it turns out we were right about the sexual abuse. They did a rape kit and are waiting to see if the DNA matches Rick Covey's. Death was too easy for that son of a bitch."

JJ remained silent and Blake shook her head and headed up the stairs to the open door. "I don't understand how someone can hurt a child." Blake said with anger clear in her voice.

"These kids were alone or abandoned. Desperate to be loved. It made them perfect targets for abuse and CPS did nothing to protect them. It's no wonder they came up with this scheme." JJ said.

"They wanted people to notice." Rossi added. "This wasn't just about ending their own pain. They want someone out there to understand what happened to them and care enough to change the system."

"So no one else will have to suffer the ways they did." JJ concluded.

One of the forensic experts greeted the trio as they entered the house. The agents wordlessly searched the first floor of the house for anything that could tell them more about the Covey's, and Spencer's life in their house.

Aside from a belt that was bagged by the forensic team, the first floor was clear.

Upstairs in Spencer's room, they were not surprised to see that Rick Covey's body had been removed from the scene and numbered markers were placed around the small room.

"This doesn't seem like the bedroom of an autistic teen. There's no schedule to keep track, no books, no puzzles or toys. There's absolutely no personality, no pictures on the walls no mirror. It's just empty." Blake said.

"Well what do you expect from a neglectful household? You would only find those things in the room of someone who's happy and cared for. There's nothing in this room that doesn't have to be in it." Rossi replied.

"It's a prison cell." JJ mumbled, and Blake and Rossi looked to her. "There's a lock on the door. Looks like it has to be opened from the outside. And there's a timer." She paused and looked around before walking to the pair of windows. "The windows are boarded shut. That's why it's so dark in here." She frowned.

Blake looked through the small dresser of drawers and found nothing but a few items of clothing. "He doesn't have much to chose from in the clothing department. This couple did the bare minimum for Spencer."

"They just locked the kid in here, gave him some food every once in a while and sent him off to school to be babysat while they were at work during the day." Rossi added. "They only let him out to satisfy their needs."

Just then they heard a creak in the doorway, signaling someone's arrival.

"You mean Rick's needs." Morgan said as he entered the room. "I don't know what Wanda got out of it, but I sure as hell want to ask her why she let this kid continue to be abused right under her nose." Morgan crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway.

"She was most likely physically abusive herself, and if so she wouldn't care what Rick did to him." Rossi said. "Did Hotch send you to talk to her?"

"No I'm going back to do that now. JJ you're with me. Hotch wants you two to go talk to the coroner." Morgan explained. "There's not much more we can do here. But at least we have people to question. Starting with Wanda Covey. Have you finished sweeping the house?"

"We haven't been to the parents bedroom or the office yet, and there's nothing to even go through in this room." JJ answered. "He really doesn't have anything."

"Well lets take a look so we can get going." Morgan uncrossed his arms and drifted into the hallway with the others following behind him.

Morgan and JJ went into the next door that lead to an office space while Rossi and Blake went past them to the next bedroom. The master bedroom was huge. They searched for several minutes. The walk in closet, the on suite, and the bookcase and dressers in the room all held nothing of suspicion. They checked under the bed, under the mattress and behind two paintings just to be sure. Just as they were about to leave the room, they heard Morgan swear.

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The office was considerably bigger than Spencer's bedroom, and was tastefully decorated. A large wooden desk was at one end of the room while a love seat couch with a coffee table in front of it was at the other.

They searched the room in silence until JJ checked the desk and found the last drawer locked.

"Morgan have you seen a key? The last drawer is locked." She asked.

"Nah, no key but let me take a look.", he pulled a lock pick from his pocket as he walked over and came to squat in front of the desk. JJ stepped back and in just a few twists the lock opened.

"I still got it." Morgan stated proudly with a smile. His expression changed to one of curiosity when he pulled open the drawer to find a lone wooden box.

He pulled the box out and set it on the desk for JJ to open. JJ frowned when she opened the box and found a thick envelope resting on top of a wad of cash inside the box. The cash was held together by a thick blue rubber band.

"What is it?" Morgan asked as he stood.

JJ shrugged and shook her head, opening the envelope to find it full of pictures.

Both their stomachs dropped and their eyes widened at what they were seeing.

After looking through a few of the sickening photos, Morgan growled in disgust and swore angrily.

Seconds later Blake and Rossi entered the room. "I take it you found something?" Blake asked.

Morgan stiffly pointed to the envelope in JJ's hands. "Son of a bitch was letting other people abuse Spencer! There are pictures of him naked with Rick as well as other men at different times.", he huffed. "What the hell is wrong with these people?!"

"We found a box locked in Rick's desk drawer." JJ explained. "The bottom was filled with cash and this envelope has photos of Spencer with at least three different men. Including Rick himself. All of the pictures were taken in Spencer's bedroom." JJ said as calmly as she could. "I think we need to call Hotch and have him contact SVU. This is a much worse hell than we originally thought."

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Morgan called Hotch and told him about what they found and asked him about calling in some help. Hotch agreed that calling SVU was a wise decision, so he instructed Blake and Rossi to go on and speak with the coroner, and for Morgan and JJ to come back to the hospital and speak to Wanda Covey while he took care of calling in assistance.

At the coroner's office, Blake and Rossi made their way through a set of doors and was met by a man who looked to be about forty years of age. He had greying hair and his dark eyes had obviously seen many terrible things.

"Agent Rossi I assume?" He asked holding his hand out to shake the other mans. "Yes I'm David Rossi and these are my teammates Agent Blake and Jennifer Jareau."

"I'm Dr. Olsen. I'd say it's nice to meet you, but I hate cases like these. Every teenager in your file has come through here. I was hoping not to have to see anymore." He tilted his head and gestured for the agent's to follow him down the hall.

They walked into the room and as expected, Zachary Bell's body was laid on a cold metal table. The young man's skin was as white as the sheet covering the bottom half of his body.

"Single gunshot to the head. He pulled the trigger himself. He died immediately. I found definite evidence of abuse. Dozens of scars around his body. Mostly needle marks and cigar burns."

"Needle marks?" Rossi asked. After receiving a nod from Dr. Olsen he concluded, "Kid must have been using just like Alexis. Was there any Dilaudid found in his system?"

"Sure enough. Same drug that killed the others. From what I can gather he's been using for years." Dr. Olsen said. After a short silence he continued. "He's had several ribs broken that didn't heal correctly. And his left arm and wrist were broken at least twice. The breaks are old so I'd say he was around ten or so. He also had several broken fingers in the last couple years, like he was trying to defend himself from a beating."

"Extreme physical abuse. We'll have to let Hotch know so we can find out who's custody Zachary was in at the time." Blake said.

"Any signs of sexual abuse?" Rossi asked.

"Not that I could find, but that doesn't mean there wasn't any in the past." Olsen answered.

"Okay. You can cover him now." Rossi said. "Can you tell us about Rick Covey's death?"

Dr. Olsen re-covered Zachary's pale face with the sheet and stepped away. "Yeah he's right over here." He lead the trio through a curtain that divided the room in two, and closed it behind them.

"My partner and I found Rick's blood on Zachary's clothes and body, so it safe to say he's the one that killed him." Olsen explained he uncovered the man's body. "He was stabbed 16 times in his torso. Ruptured several organs including both lungs. He would have died from suffocation if not for the stab to his heart. After that blow he was dead in seconds."

"No defensive wounds of any kind?" Blake asked.

"Nope. Looks like he went down pretty fast. No cuts on his hands, no bruises or head wound. Nothing."

"Thank you for your time Dr. Olsen. We just needed to be sure that everything was as it seems."

"Sure thing." Dr. Olsen nodded. "So is the case done? I heard your team saved me from having to see two more dead kids on my table. Will they be okay?"

Blake and Rossi exchanged glances. "We still have some loose ends to tie up and they're going to need a lot of help. But the boys are alive and safe." Rossi answered. "For now, that's all we can ask for."

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When Morgan and JJ reached Wanda Covey's hospital room, they paused to gather themselves. They discussed what they were going to ask her on the car ride over. A middle aged LVPD officer was with them to listen in to the questioning.

They exchanged a quick glance and JJ opened the door.

Wanda Covey was sitting up in her hospital bed, glaring as the entered. Her messy hair was pulled back by a rubber band, and a small bandage was taped at the back of her head. Her green eyes were hard and a grey, but a soft sadness was hidden behind them.

"Wanda Covey." JJ said, holding up her badge as she approached her bedside with Morgan in tow. "FBI. We have some questions for you."

"You're the ones with all the answers." Wanda said bitterly. "My husband was murdered! I want to know why he's dead and what you plan to do about it! Why is that little shit not locked up?!", she shouted.

"Hey, watch your mouth." Morgan stepped forward and stared down at her. "That kid is lying in a hospital bed on a venerator after being severely beaten. Your husband is dead because Spencer's friends saved his life by fighting back. What I want to know is why you allowed your husband to repeatedly beat and rape Spencer without reporting it." It was clear to JJ that he was having trouble keeping his cool. His voice was hard, but he held back from yelling at her.

Wanda scoffed and turned away. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do." JJ said firmly. "You stood by and let Spencer be subjected to horrible things and you did nothing to help him."

"Help him?!" Wanda shouted. "That brat took everything from me! Everything changed after we took him in." She paused to hold back a sob. "I never should have agreed to adopt him. I should have seen what he was doing to Rick! It's not fair!"

"And what was Spencer doing?" Morgan asked, humoring the crazed woman to get more information.

"He seduced him!" Wanda yelled. Her eyes were wide and wild. "He stole my husband away from me! Rick didn't even look at me anymore. He twisted his mind!" JJ eyes narrowed when Wanda started to cry. "He was always coming home late, buying expensive gifts for Spencer." She spat his name. "He took such good care of that stupid kid but he couldn't even come home in time to have dinner with me!"

Morgan was about to burst but JJ quickly intervened with an effective question. "What kept him out so late?" She asked.

"He was always with his work friends. They'd go drink and whore around all night. Sometimes his friends would come back to the house with him and stay up all night. His personality completely changed when that boy came to our house!"

"Let me get this straight." Morgan growled. "You think that Spencer seduced your husband and made him change?" He paused to catch his breath and await her answer.

"That's what I said!" Wanda shouted. "He ruined everything for us! Rick shouldn't have loved

HIM more than he loved ME! It's not fair!" She slammed her fist down like a child throwing a tantrum. "I did everything for him and still…"

Morgan looked down at her and clenched his jaw. "Look lady. Spencer didn't change your husband. Rick was a sick bastard that enjoyed preying on children! Spencer is a victim, and we have evidence that he was beaten, raped and photographed by your sick husband and his friends!"

"We know that you were aware of the sexual abuse." JJ added. "Why didn't you stand up to your husband, or at least tell the authorities?" irritation was clear in JJ's voice.

Wanda looked down and stayed silent. Anger lingering in her eyes.

"You didn't care." Morgan stated, and Wanda looked up. "You were jealous, so you punished Spencer by letting Rick use him like a toy. You even abused him yourself didn't you? Did you ever help Rick with the photos? With the beatings?"

"He was my husband and I loved him! I did anything he asked of me! I tried to keep that little brat in his place!" She spat. "I made sure he was obedient! Last I checked discipline was perfectly legal! He had no rights to my husband! No rights to our home or our money! I got rid of everything Rick ever bought for him and kept him away when I wanted."

"He had nothing!" JJ yelled. "His bedroom is like a prison. There are boards on the windows and an automatic lock on his door. You locked him away and only let him out to be abused and then sent off to school like nothing was wrong. Instead of helping that defenseless child you allowed and even aided him to be subjected to physical and emotional torture again and again!"

"He never got anything he didn't deserve." Wanda said quietly in a venomous voice.

JJ and Morgan stayed quiet for a moment. Then Morgan reached back for his handcuffs and quickly attached one side to Wanda right wrist, and the other to the hospital bed before she even knew what he was doing.

"Wanda Covey, you're under arrest for Child abuse, endangerment and production of child pornography." Morgan ignored her angry protests and turned to the officer that had accompanied them. "Read her rights and get her out of here please. We're done."

With that he turned to leave with JJ following closely behind him. They heard Wanda yelling and the officer beginning to Mirandize her, but they kept walking and slammed the door behind them.

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Garcia's colorful heels clicked as she walked down the hospital corridor. She had been called by Hotch to sit in with the boys while he met with the Special Victims Unit.

Garcia hated hospitals. They were sad and dull and smelled of sickness and chemicals. She felt sad and sorry for anyone that had to stay here for long.

She briskly walked down the hall until she came to the correct room number. When she stepped inside, her heart hurt even more for the boys laying in beds on either side of the room. They both looked thin and pale. The first thing she was going to do when they woke up is fill those bellies with pastries.

"How are the boys doing?" Garcia asked.

Hotch looked up at the sound of her voice. "Both are still unconscious but Riley should be waking up by sometime tomorrow, once the drugs have left his system.", he answered. "They're keeping Spencer sedated until his body has time to process the trauma. Probably a few days."

Garcia's eyes back and forth between the boys. "We can fix this right? We can help them?", she asked sadly.

Hotch let out a deep sigh, nodded and said, "We need to start with getting them justice. That's where SVU comes in. It's in their area of expertise to track down pedophiles and get the proof needed to convict them. As for the boys, I'm not sure where they'll go, but I'm going to make sure they are both safe.", he stated firmly. "I'll do everything in my power to ensure that they're cared for."

Just then, Morgan and JJ turned the corner, both looking exhausted and irritated.

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AUTORS NOTE:

So sorry for the wait! My life went a little crazy for a while but I'm back on track now! This chapter was a little hard get right so please comment and let me know what you think of it. I'll do my very best to update again by this time next week. Thanks so much for all the follows and favorites! Please review and I'll see you again next time!

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	11. Riley

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AUTORS NOTE:

HI there! Hope you're enjoying the story so far! I'm not a huge fan of this chapter and I had a really hard time with it. Please let me know what you think and anything I can do to improve. Thanks for all of your patients and support! I'll post the next chapter ASAP! Please forgive any mistakes!

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 **WARNINGS:: Mentions of child abuse, suicide and death. Language.**

Chapter 11: Riley

After hearing what JJ and Morgan had to say about Wanda Covey, Hotch called it a day. It was getting late, and the day had been exhausting and emotionally draining for the whole team. Hotch had Garcia stay with the boys in the hospital while he met with SVU. He sent the rest of the team back to the hotel to get some much needed rest.

The leader of the SVU team was a tall thin man with light brown hair and kind brown eyes. He was younger than Hotch but somehow seemed much wiser. The young man introduced himself as James Matthews, the man with two first names. He offered a strong handshake and introduced the rest of his team before settling into the police stations conference room.

Hotch explained the case to SVU and gave them all of the evidence that had been gathered, including the sexual photographs of Spencer Reid and his unknown abusers. The lack of surprise at the photos was expected in their line of work, and the anger and disgust each member was feeling was obvious.

He went on and gave them all of the names that had come up during their investigation. Fortunately they were more than happy to work along with the BAU team and together they knew they could get justice for the victims.

The SVU team was fully prepared to take the lead on interviewing all of the victims former foster parents and social workers. Hotch offered Garcia's services to help them track down the men in the photographs and anyone else that needed to be found. He also explained his experience in law and told them he would be working the case all along the way. He already had permission from the higher ups to take the lead on the legal aspect of the case.

Their meeting lasted about an hour. After which, all but the SVU team leader departed for the night and prepared to pick up on the case first thing in the morning. Matthews rode with Hotch back to the hospital to pick up Garcia, and stayed stationed in the hall outside of the boys hospital room all night just in case of a problem.

Out of respect Hotch tried not to profile him. But it was hard to miss the sad look in his eyes and the tension that stiffened his muscles. He obviously had a dark past. But in their line of work it was rare to find someone who didn't. They all chose this job for a reason. The lack of justice in their lives made them want to seek it out. To work for it.

With a contented sigh, Hotch turned away from the man and he and Garcia went back to the hotel for the night, relieved to have someone watching over the boys.

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He felt so heavy. Like a sea of darkness was resting on top of him, preventing him from moving or opening his eyes. He heard soft humming coming from somewhere around him, and for a moment he wondered if it was Alexis. 'I guess that means she was right.', he thought.

With a bit of effort, he opened his eyes a looked to his right side.

The first thing he noticed were the stark white walls and ceiling. His nose wrinkled in confusion. Shit. He was in a hospital? Only then did he notice the smell of cleaner and the soft beeping of machines surrounding him. How had he survived?

He looked around the small room, and at last he found the source of the humming. A colorfully dressed blond woman was knitting away in a hospital chair and humming a pleasant tune. Not Alexis. He felt frustrated tears pick at his eyes, but he blinked them away quickly.

This wasn't what they'd planned. He wondered if this woman was a social worker. No. More likely a therapist come to ask him questions he didn't want to answer. The woman didn't notice him looking at her, so he decided to stay quiet and continue looking around while he gathered his fuzzy thoughts.

His eyes caught sight of another hospital bed on the left side of the room. Who is… Suddenly he felt panic rush over him and he quickly sat up. There in the next bed lay a boy covered in bruises and attached to several wires and tubes. A breathing machine was over his mouth and he looked still and cold. "Spencer?" he mumbled.

Riley jumped off the bed and yanked the IV out from the crook of his arm. Somehow it felt like his feet weren't even touching the ground.

The woman behind him gasped and something lightly dropped to the floor. Riley didn't care. He rushed over to his injured friend, his little brother, and gripped the railing. He felt dizzy looking down on him.

He was alive? And Spencer too? But how?!

He felt his breathing pick up, and he reached down and touched Spencer's bruised face. The other boys skin was cool and clammy. Riley pulled his hand back and shuddered. He suddenly felt very sick, and his head ached horribly.

'Maybe this isn't real.', he thought. 'Maybe I really died, and this hell. Doomed to be in foster care for eternity.' He didn't even realize that he started crying and gasping. Tears rushed down his cheeks and his hands shook.

"Riley… Riley." Someone was calling him. Who?

He looked to his right side and saw a tall skinny man with a gentle smile, holding his hands out in a calming manner. "It's okay Riley. You're safe okay? I promise no one is going to hurt you."

Riley's gaze flashed back to Spencer and the man immediately responded to his gesture. "He's safe too. No one is going to hurt either one of you, you're safe here. You're having an anxiety attack but you're gonna be okay. You just need to take deep breaths for me okay?" Riley nodded and tried to follow the man's breathing pattern, until at last he felt more steady on his feet.

"It's okay." The man said with a kind smile. "My name is James, and this is my friend Penelope." Riley looked at the colorful woman who had been humming at his bedside. She looked worried, but smiled despite it. "Honey, you need sit down okay? Everything's gonna be alright but you need to rest." She urged.

He wanted to say something back, but found the words wouldn't come out. Is this how Spencer feels when he cant speak?

Riley noticed a nurse standing by in the doorway. Likely ready to sedate him or send him to the looney bin if he didn't listen. Hell no! He looked back to James and Penelope. He was scared, but… He wasn't sure why he felt okay listening to them. Besides, he had no say in the matter and he refused to leave Spencer, so he may as well comply.

He looked at his friends sleeping form and gave his hand a gentle squeeze before he made his way back to the hospital bed he'd risen from. He settled back on it, looking worriedly over to Spencer.

Penelope walked over to him and spoke softly while the nurse entered the room to reconnect his IV. The man, James, stood by quietly and watched. Riley wiped the tears from his face and suddenly felt very tired. As he was covered back up with the blanket, only one thought lingered in his mind.

If he was alive, and Spencer was with him, then where was Zachary?

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Both teams had been working hard all morning. Between the two groups they had talked to several foster parents, social workers and group home providers. They still had to go through more than half of the foster parents of every one of their victims. What they had found out so far was hard to take, although it was expected. It was no wonder these young ones had chosen to end their lives.

Every single one of them had at least three homes that they were forcibly removed from due various forms of abuse. Some of the foster parents had even spent time in jail for their actions.

Zachary Bell never had a chance. His father was an abusive drunk and his mother a very neglectful and emotionally damaged woman. His father was gunned down by police officers after a violent bar fight went wrong. Soon after social services removed Zachary from his home, his mother committed suicide in a locked mental ward. One of Zachary's foster fathers was still in prison on multiple counts of domestic violence and rape. He was immediately placed with a new couple until he was sent back to a group home just weeks later.

After an extensive look into Riley Jenkins' background, they found that he had a beautiful and happy childhood. Sadly his mother died when his little sister was born, but his father loved and cherished them and raised them well. The small family was poor, but the father was hard working and kind. He made sure they lived full and happy lives.

Riley had straight A's and was involved in several after school activities up until his father's unexpected demise. A drunken driver left Lou Jenkins and five year old Rain dead and Riley alone in the world at 10 years old. He'd been removed from several unfit homes and spent more time in group homes than with individual families. They were unsure if that was a good thing or not.

It was up to SVU leader James Mathews to find out. He had sat with the boys all night and coordinated with his and Hotchner's teams early that morning. The information that was passed on to him about Riley would make it much easier to talk to him.

It was past lunch time now and Matthews had let the others know about Riley waking up and being sedated. That was more than an hour ago. Now he and Garcia were sipping coffee and talking about their lives while patiently waiting for the boy to open his eyes again.

The delved into their own losses and tragic family stories, and it strengthened their resolve to finish this case with everything they had. By the time they finished their coffee and a few of Garcia's baked pastries, Riley began to stir.

Matthews rose scrim his seat and slowly approached his bed side right in time for Riley to open his eyes. "Hey kiddo." He said with a soft smile. "How are you feeling?"

Riley sat up a bit and muttered a short, "I'm fine." Then he looked over to Spencer before looking expectedly at the man.

"Spencer's going to be okay. I know it's scary to see him like that, but he just needs some time to heal." The man said. Riley looked back over at Spencer and saw the short rise and fall of his chest. It reminded him of seeing his sister that way. He blinked away tears and nodded his head.

"What's your name again?" Riley asked.

"James Matthews. And this is my friend Penelope Garcia."

Riley nodded again and paused for moment. ".. So… what are you my new social worker or something?" he asked.

"No I'm with the police. I work in a special crime division and I came to see how your doing." Matthews answered.

"You mean you're hear to ask me a bunch of questions." Riley bit back. "And you're what? A therapist?" he asked Garcia. "I tried to kill myself because I want to die. I thought that would be obvious by now." He said bitterly.

Garcia knew not to speak unless prompted and Matthews allowed the silence to hang in the air before he spoke. "I'm very sorry you hurt so much Riley. But suicide isn't the answer."

"You're wrong. It's the only answer. No one cares about any of us! We have no control over our lives and every place we go is worse than the last! I'd rather die a hundred times than let some sicko hit me and touch me again. Never again!" Riley's voice broke as he cried.

Garcia's heart sunk at his words. Matthews saw her expression and almost asked her to step outside, but he decided against it. Riley might feel uncomfortable and shut down without her kind warm presence. He turned back to the boy and sat in the chair beside his bed, making himself seem smaller, and less threatening.

"Riley." He spoke softly. "I need to know what happened to you. That's why I'm here. I want everyone that ever hurt you and your friends to have to pay for it. But the only way I can help you, is if you tell me what happened." Matthews said hopefully.

Riley just shook his head.

Matthews exchanged a glance with Garcia, and she gave him a nod.

"You know," Matthews started. "We understand what it's like to feel alone." Riley looked up at him skeptically. "When I was a kid my mom got sick. She was everything to me, and suddenly she was gone and I had no one. I was in foster care for a long time, and I met a lot of horrible people. That's why I like my job. I get to find bad people like that and make sure that they can't hurt anyone ever again." Riley's eyes filled with tears again.

Garcia came and stood behind Matthews with a sad but warm smile. "Me too. I help the FBI find bad guys all day long, and I want to find the ones that hurt you too. My parents and my sister died in a car accident, just like yours. I was a teenager when it happened, and… I was lucky. I wasn't in foster care for long before I met the Garcia's, and they adopted me. But it still wasn't easy."

"We understand how hard this must be for you." Matthews said. "I know that you've begged for help and no one would listen to you. But we can and will help you, if you give us a chance." Riley seemed to be considering it, so Matthews added a promise he swore to keep. "I promise you will be safe. I'll make sure that no one ever hurts you again."

Riley nodded gratefully. He understood and accepted the promise with hesitation. He had heard the promise from social workers before. But this was… different. It was genuine. No one had ever tried to understand him. No one ever cared enough to ask about his painful memories.

Riley wiped his eyes, took a deep breath, and began telling his story.

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Another hard day had passed and everyone was resting soundly in their hotel beds. All except for James Matthews.

He sat in the hospital just outside the room he had been in all day. He couldn't stop thinking about the things that Riley had told him. All of the sadness he had lived through in the past five years. It was to close to home. But then again, working for the Special Victims Unit, every case hit him hard.

He related to Riley. And he wished there was more he could do than tell him that he understands.

He thought about all the times he himself fought to protect himself. Every time he felt emotionally and physically broken beyond repair. He never did find a family. They had all been hard places to stay and once he turned 16, he was emancipated.

Then he worked hard, put himself through running start, and eventually started to study in his feild. He had made it all on his own, and he couldn't help grieving the teens that weren't so lucky. The ones that fell hard, and gave up. Every name in that damned file dead or in the hospital, soon to be placed back in the system.

What other hells could Riley and Spencer go through? How could they possibly take anymore pain? Matthews only knew one thing for sure. He wouldn't let these boys just be flung back into the system. He was determined to make sure of that.

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	12. Pasts

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 **AUTHORS NOTE:** Hello readers! So sorry for the long wait! This chapter is a bit short and blah. I've been trying to keep up with the story along with my studies but clearly it's not working as well as I had hoped. No worries though! I'm not giving up on the story! I'll update as often as possible and keep working hard to stick with it. I have lots more for you all. Until next time

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 **WARNINGS:: Mentions of child abuse.**

Chapter 12: The Past

"Help! Somebody help!"

Matthews was startled awake by Riley's panicked shouts from the hospital room.

He jumped up from his chair and dashed inside to see Riley standing by Spencer's bed with wide concerned eyes. Spencer's skin was highlighted with blue and an awful series of beeping was going off next to him.

Dr. Dove rushed into the room with two nurses behind her. They began checking over Spencer and suddenly Dr. Dove looked over to Matthews shouting, "Get him out of here!"

Matthews blinked away the shock and grabbed hold of Riley's arm, gently, leading him from the room. Surprisingly there was no struggle. Riley numbly followed his lead into another room, where he laid back on a new hospital bed and listened to Matthews' soothing words. Silent tears streamed down his face and his breathing was fast and shaky.

Several minutes later, the boys silent cries turned into loud sobs. Matthews tried to comfort him, but Riley repeatedly pushed him away. Matthews resorted to calling a nurse in to check on him and she gave the young man a sedative through his IV. No doubt the stress had overwhelmed Riley.

Once he was sure that Riley would be alright, he left the room to find out what the hell had just happened.

After being asked to wait to hear about Spencer, Matthews called around to let everyone know what was going on. Agent Hotchner then sent agent Morgan to wait with him.

Morgan and Matthews sat across from one another, quietly drinking coffee in a small waiting room down the hall. They were analyzing one another and they both knew it.

Finally, Morgan spoke up. "I heard you spent some time talking with Garcia last night. This case really hits home for you doesn't it?"

Matthews looked over at him sharply.

"Don't worry she didn't tell me anything. She's not like that." Morgan explained. "I'm just curious."

Matthews expression softened. "Yeah, Garcia was very helpful. She really knows how make people smile." He smiled fondly. "This case is personal, but I guess they all are. Even for her." He replied. After a moments silence he asked. "You too?" Morgan just nodded.

They stayed silent for a while longer, until this time Matthews spoke up.

"I was 10 when I found out that my mom had cancer. She died shortly after she was diagnosed. Then, everything changed." Morgan looked at him quietly, waiting for him to continue. I went into foster care and was tossed around from home to home until I turned 16. Each one was more abusive than the last, and I would have done almost anything to be free." He paused. "Riley's just like I was at his age. He's wounded, angry and scared. He lost his only family when he was 10 and he never found anyone else to love him. He just wants someone to care. I know what that's like." He finished.

"I'm sorry." Morgan said.

Matthews nodded and looked at him expectedly. "Why is it so personal for you?", he asked.

Morgan sighed deeply before answering. "When I was a teenager… I was sexually abused by someone I trusted. He was like, a model citizen in our neighborhood. Everyone looked up to him, and I though of him like a father. These kids had no hope. Nowhere to go. Then they find someone willing to take them in, but only for a price. I'll be damned if I take that laying down.", he said firmly.

Matthews nodded. "We have some work to do then. These boys can't go back into the system. It already almost destroyed them."

Their conversation was cut short when Dr. Dove entered the room. They both stood to greet her and before either of them had a chance to ask she started explaining the situation.

"He's going to be alright.", she said, and they both sighed with relief. She went on, "Spencer had a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot that was preventing him from getting enough oxygen in his lungs. We have him on some blood thinners to prevent this from happening again. We cleaned everything out and replaced the chest tube but he's breathing on his own which is very good news. He's no longer on a ventilator and we're tapering off of the sedative's so he should be waking up by tomorrow." She explained with a light smile.

"So that's it right? He'll be fine now?" Morgan asked.

"It looks good yes. He should be just fine. I'll have to run some tests once he wakes up, but I don't foresee any more complications."

"Thank you Doctor." Matthews said. "How is Riley doing?"

"He's resting now." She replied. " The boys are back in the same room. One of the nurses explained to me what happened. Riley's mind and body are under a lot of stress but he'll be okay. The drug is out of his system but he will still seem.. off, for a while. He would probably benefit from talking to someone too."

"I think I know someone that can help with that." Matthews said with a shy smile. Morgan looked at I'm curiously but said nothing.

"I'll leave it to you then." Dr. Dove said as she turned away and walked down the hall.

"I guess I should get going too." Morgan said. He was about to walk away, but stopped mid step and grinned widely at Matthews. "Tell Garcia I said 'Hello' will ya?"

Matthews tried in vein to hide the upward curve in his lips. "Whatever." He bit back and turned toward the boys hospital room. Once out of Morgan's sight, he let himself smile as he pulled out his phone to call Garcia.

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Blake and JJ sat with two members of the SVU team. Brick was an middle aged man with a scowl that could almost match Hotch's, and Cloe was a petite redhead covered in freckles. They had discussed every victim in depth and they had a plan in place for charging every one of their abusers. Between the two teams, they already had charges placed on four abusers and two were in jail awaiting trials. One of which was Spencer Reid's adoptive mother Wand Covey.

Spencer had no family apart from his parents, much like the others. William and Diana Reid were married for 3 years before the father abandoned them and disappeared. Spencer was raised by his single mother, a paranoid schizophrenic until he was 8 years old. At that time he was found in his home a bloody mess beside his dead mother after calling 911. She had slit both their wrists in an attempt to escape her invisible tormenters and prevent her child from ever inheriting them.

Spencer had only survived by tying his tube socks around each wrist. After which he tied the rope of his mother's bathrobe around hers. He was barely clinging to life when medics arrived, but sadly his mother was unable to be revived.

Spencer's father had been off the grid for years, so Spencer was sent to foster care after he recovered in the hospital. He had been removed from several abusive homes, two of which the parents received jail time and Spencer had been hospitalized. He had lived with the Covey's for 2 years. That was the longest he had been in one place since his mother's death, so social workers were not surprised that Rick Covey had decided to officially adopt the boy.

What seemed to be a blessing for young Spencer was just a new nightmare in disguise.

Blake was disgusted at how unfair the world was. Here she was without her son and here a child without his mother. Their loved ones plagued with incurable illnesses that took their lives to soon. Even worse was that this boy had not found the love he deserved. Instead he had been beaten and used and showed cruelty she would never wish on anyone. She couldn't imagine her son going through that. If it were up to her, she would protect him from anything and anyone. If it were up to her.

Hotch and Matthews had already taken care of the photo evidence of the sexual abuse Spencer had endured. Garcia managed to find the identity of one of the photographed men and Rossi was more than happy to interrogate him and find the identity of the other man.

They had all been saddened by all of the teenagers tragic pasts. It was bitter sweet to know that they had managed to save two of six young lives. The question now was if they could really keep them safe. Both from the system and from their own fragile minds.

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Garcia sat in the hospital alone with Riley and Spencer. She was glad that Matthews had called her to comfort Riley. After talking most of the day away, the young man had finally settled back into a peaceful sleep. Spencer too was looking much better. He'd given them all quite the scare, but it was such a relief to see him breathing in his own.

Garcia knitted away on her latest colorful creation as she hummed to herself a cheerful melody. She tried not to think about all the pain she could sense in Riley's heart, and all the tears he had shed when talking with her. She tried not to focus on the sudden death of her own parents or how much she could relate to the tragic accident that took Riley's family away from him.

Instead, she found herself thinking about Matthews and the long conversations they had had.

He had a painful past, but he had grown into a determined and wonderful man. It encouraged her to know that Matthews, Morgan and she herself had come from such dark places and still made good lives for themselves. They had come out strong! She smiled. It gave her hope for the two young teenagers sleeping soundly in their hospital beds.

They would be okay now. That was one thing she knew for sure. Everything, would be okay.


	13. Spencer

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 **AUTORS NOTE:** Hey there! I felt really bad for making you wait so long for another chapter so here's something special just for you! I'm moving in about a week so things are pretty busy for me right now but I promise to do my best in keeping up with the story! I really enjoyed writing this chapter, so I certainly hope you enjoy reading it! Please please please review and let me know what you think of this chapter, the story so far and where it's headed! Happy reading all. I hope you enjoy ❤ There's a tiny P.S at the end of the chapter. And just an obvious reminder, I do not own Criminal minds or their characters.

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 **WARNINGS:: Mentions of child abuse, suicide and death. Language.**

Chapter 13: Spencer

Another night had passed without incident and Garcia was returning to the hospital after a good night's rest. Agent Cloe had watched over the boys until Garcia arrived to relieve her.

As expected, Spencer was still and quiet, still recovering from his traumas. A nasal cannula was hooked behind his ears and his breathing looked to be even and steady. What Garcia didn't expect to see, was Riley perched on the side of Spencer's bed holding his hand and singing softly to him. She stayed silent and tried to make out the words.

"So come with me, we'll go and see,

the Big Rock Candy Mountains.

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains,

There's a land that's fair and bright,

Where the handouts grow on bushes

And you sleep out every night."

Garcia smiled at the sound and decided it was time to make her presence known. "You have a wonderful voice." she said gently. Riley was startled, but instantly relaxed and even smiled when he saw who it was.

"Thank you." Riley said. "My father used to sing it to us. He taught it to me on a camping trip."

"He was a great father." Garcia smiled.

"Yeah he was." Riley said sadly, but then he smiled. "But he couldn't sing. He told me my mother would sing all the time. I guess I get it from her."

Garcia giggled. "Well I guess anyone can sing but not everyone should." Riley smiled at that. "Will you… stay for a while?" he asked. Garcia nodded and sat in a chair between the two hospital beds. Riley kissed Spencer's forehead and walked over to get into his own bed.

"You care a lot for Spencer don't you?" Garcia asked.

Riley nodded. "He's my little brother. He doesn't really know how to take care of himself anyway. I've never been very strong but I learned how to defend myself. Spencer's always been too scared to even try. Ethan and… and Zachary, would always protect both of us."

Riley's eyes teared up and Garcia reached for a box of tissues. "I'm sorry we couldn't save your friends too. But don't give up. You and Spencer, you're gonna be okay. It just takes strength and time. You've got plenty of both."

Riley took a tissue and thanked Garcia for her encouraging words. He felt so much guilt that he was still alive. It didn't seem fair. He never thought he would change his mind about living, but he had come to trust Garcia. She said they would be okay. And for once, Riley believed it to be true.

He looked over to Spencer and hoped she could make him believe it too.

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Matthews sat in a dimly lit office in the police station and shook his head as he looked over Spencer's medical file. His first hospitalization was when he was 8 years old. He was treated for malnutrition and extreme blood loss after his mother's attack. He stayed in the hospital for a week receiving treatment and psychiatric evaluations. Once deemed healthy enough to leave, he was sent to a group home until being placed with his first family, the Miller's.

That lead to his second hospitalization less than a year later. Nineteen year old Devon Miller had been abusing Spencer since he arrived at the house. The parents were shocked and mortified to find out that their only son was not only abusing Spencer, but also had other victims. They cut all contact with Devon and he was now serving a full prison sentence for three counts of child molestation and rape of a minor.

His third hospitalization was when he was 12 years old. His sixth foster home was with the Decker family. Mr. Decker was a bully, abusive to his wife and son as well as Spencer. Child Protection Services didn't find out until Spencer was brought in with a broken arm and his foster brother with a severe concussion.

Both boys were removed from their care and Mr. Decker spent three nights in jail. Eventually, when his wife had finally had enough, he was sent to prison for attempted murder for almost killing her.

Spencer was sent to a group home for a short time, and then he was introduced to the Covey's. And now look at where he was. Back in the hospital. Matthews was disgusted at all the pain this boy had gone through and the system in charge of protecting him had failed him time and time again.

It was no different then when he was a boy. He remembered the dread he felt every time he went to a new home, not knowing what horrors awaited him. He closed the file in his hands balled up his fist in frustration. Just then Morgan spoke up. "That bad huh?"

"Yeah.." Matthews sighed. "I was hoping it wouldn't still be this bad. These kids deserve so much better but the system just keeps failing."

"Yeah they definitely deserve better." Morgan said. "and you did to you know."

"Thanks." Matthews smiled. "You know?... I don't know if this is the right job for me. I thought I could make a difference but I always show up when it's already too late. I just… I can't keep seeing this."

Morgan nodded his head. "I know it's rough, but there's really no way to prevent these things from happening. People do horrible things everyday and we don't get called in until it's already been done. Don't let it wear you down. Let's just.. do what we can now." He replied.

"Death is better than the he'll we lived." Matthews murmured.

"Excuse me?" Morgan asked, not quite catching it.

"The note. They all had a note in their pocket that said the same thing. 'Death is better than the hell we lived.'" Matthews said. "I know we can't make everything better, but we have to do something. We can't just send Riley and Spencer back into the system."

"Yeah Garcia said the same thing." Morgan replied.

They sat quietly for a few moments. "I think you'd be good for each other." Morgan said.

"What?" Matthews asked with scrunched eyebrows.

"You and Garcia. You'd be really good for each other." Morgan grinned.

"…." Matthews just sat shocked and unsure. "Uhmm?..."

"Come on man! I know you like her and it 's obvious she likes you. Believe me." He rolled his eyes. "I know. She tells me everything. Even what I don't wanna hear." He got up to refill his coffee mug.

Matthews smiled. "She likes me?" he asked.

"Yes genius, she does. Man where have you been?"

Just then Hotch, Rossi and Brick entered the room. "Looks like we're about ready to wrap things up here." Hotchkiss said. "We've done all we can. The rest is up to the courts to decide. I'll be on standby if you need me with legalities," he said to Matthews "but the rest of the case is taken care of."

"I appreciate that. The rest of our work can be done from our own office so we'll be clearing out of here shortly as well. All that's left to do is press charges on these creeps." Matthews said. "Our teams work well together. Thanks for getting us up to date on everything." Matthews rose and shook hands with Hotch and then Rossi.

"So… any chance we can hang around Vegas for an extra fun night?" Morgan asked with a cheesy grin. Rossi laughed and shook his head.

"Don't get too excited, we're not done just yet. We have a few more things to wrap up and then we need to get our things out of the office. We probably won't leave until tomorrow evening." Hotch replied.

"Where are Blake and JJ?" Morgan asked.

"They went to the hospital to see about the boys and to bring Garcia some lunch." Rossi answered. "I don't know about you all but I'm starving. What's for dinner?"

"Dinner? HA!" Morgan replied.

"Pretty sure we worked right through feeding time sir." Matthews said. "Why don't all of us go out for a late meal tonight? I think we all deserve it after this case."

"Sounds good to me. I could certainly use the downtime." Rossi replied.

"I'll make sure to let Garcia know we're hittin the town tonight." Morgan said, and he gave Matthews a little wink as he left the room.

The others didn't see it, but Matthews blushed regardless.

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He felt light. As if floating on a sea of clouds. Perhaps he was. He didn't feel ready to open his eyes to find out for sure. Either way it felt nice. Blackness slipped back over him, until he heard a strange noise.

Beep… Beep... Beep...

What is that irritating sound? Why doesn't it stop?

Beep… Beep... Beep...

As his body was coaxed back into awareness, he noticed the pain. Every breath was strained and his lungs pushed harshly against his ribs. There was a heavy pressure in his side that caused a deep ache. He open his eyes a slit and winced. His head felt ready to explode at the light. 'Where am I?' he thought. Sharp pains went through his body when he tried to move. 'It's not supposed to hurt!'

He tried to slow his breathing but found himself too panicked to do so. His mouth was so dry he couldn't make a sound. It felt like he had swallowed sand. He opened his eyes again and blinked several times, this time prepared for the light.

He slowly looked around the room. A hospital room. He was still alive. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes as he looked around. He hadn't felt this broken since the horrible night he had lost his mother. He was disappointed that he hadn't died. That wasn't with her now.

Finally, his eyes rested on Riley sleeping in a hospital bed on the other side of the small space. A swift motion startled him. He hadn't noticed the woman sitting between the two beds.

The woman stood and looked down at him with a sad smile. When she reached out to touch him he whimpered and tried, with no success, to move away. Tears finally escaped down his cheeks and his chest was growing more and more pained as his breaking picked up. He was beginning to feel lightheaded. His vision shifted and he could no longer focus on the woman above him.

Fortunately, she backed off. She spoke to him but he couldn't make out anything she said. In an instant she disappeared and a moment later another figure took her place. The new figure reached out and gripped his arm gently.

Spencer cried even harder then. "Nooo.." he moaned as he jerked away. He cried out when an overwhelming pain ripped through him. His eyes fluttered and what little strength he had gave out. A dark outline approached the other side of the bed and then there was only darkness.

Spencer didn't fight it. He was more than happy to sleep. Maybe this time, he won't have to wake up again. Maybe now he can float forever.

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Blake and JJ entered the boys hospital room to see a worried looking Garcia rubbing Riley's back. The boy looked exhausted and in deep sleep. Across the room, Spencer scrunched his face and made a small whining noise in his sleep before settling back down. Garcia turned to see the others and stood from the bed, gesturing for them to step out with her.

"What happened?" Blake asked as soon as they were out in the hallway.

"Spencer woke up for a couple of minutes. We was scared, disoriented and in a lot of pain. Anyway, Riley got up to help calm him down and ended up making it worse. Spencer panicked and passed out when Riley touched him. Riley felt really bad for scaring him, but I finally got him to go back to sleep." Garcia answered. "They gave Spencer some more pain medication and something to help him relax. Hopefully next time he wakes up he won't be so confused."

"Well the drugs certainly aren't going to help his mental state. Not to mention the post traumatic stress he's going to have." Blake said. "Spencer has been through a lot of trauma in his life. Especially in the last few days. Everything is going to be very overwhelming for him."

"OH I hadn't even thought about the drugs!" Garcia said. "Riley is so emotional and frustrated. Is that because the drug is leaving his system?"

"It defiantly contributes." JJ answered. "But he's bound to feel that way after all he and his friends have gone through. The drug turned everything down, and now that he's detoxing it likely just increased the feelings he already had." She explained.

"Well I guess I better get baking." Garcia said quietly.

Blake and JJ exchanged thoughtful looks.

"What?" Garcia asked. "Chocolate fixes everything. Didn't you know that?"

"I knew that." Morgan stated. "I can fix anything.", he winked.

Matthews shook his head in embarrassment.

"Hello ladies." He said with a nod toward Blake and JJ. "Miss Garcia." He smiled shyly.

Garcia smiled back and JJ exchanged a knowing look with Morgan.

"We've come to escort you all to dinner." Matthews continued. "If you're willing that is."

"Where's everyone else?" JJ asked.

"On there way to the restaurant to get seats. We wanted to get the teams together to celebrate a job well done and get to know each other a little better." Morgan explained.

"What about the boys?" Garcia asked. "We owe it them not to leave them alone."

Not missing a beat, Blake spoke up. "You know? I'm not really in the mood for talk right now. I could use some peace and quiet so, I have no problem staying with them. Maybe I can catch up on some reading and get some early sleep."

JJ and Morgan looked a little worried, but Morgan let it be. "Okay. If you're sure."

Blake nodded.

With that decision made, the group said their goodnights and started down the hall as Blake made her way into the room. She closed the door behind her and sighed as she looked up. Both boys were sound asleep. She took her seat in between the beds and made herself comfortable before pulling out a book. 'Swann's Way' by Marcel Proust.

She had been reading for quite a while when she suddenly felt as though she was being watched.

When she looked up, she was met with wide hazel eyes looking from her, to the book and back again. She smiled gently and moved slowly, closing her book and setting it to the side. Surprisingly, Spencer didn't react when she stood. His eyes stayed planted on the book resting on the side table.

"Hello Spencer." Blake said softly. Spencer looked up at her but refused to make eye contact. "My name is Alex." She signed as she spoke, and his eyes brightened.

Spencer looked down and they were silent for a few moments. He looked back to the book and wrung his fingers in his hands, not ready to communicate at all.

Blake understood. "Can I read to you?" see asked kindly with both hands and lips. "It might help you go back to sleep."

She was asking him? Why would she let him make a decision? And why offer to do something nice? Spencer thought the woman seemed kind. But they always seemed that way at first.

Despite his reluctance, he nodded his head. He couldn't pass up the opportunity to hear one of his mother's favorite books. So with his answer, the woman sat back in the chair and flipped the book back to the first page. She gave him a small smile, and started to speak.

"Okay… "For a long time I used to go to bed early. Sometimes, when I had put out my candle, my eyes would close so quickly that I had not even time to say "I'm going to sleep."" Blake continued reading and Spencer listened contently, hearing the same words his mother had read to him so long ago.

He looked at 'Alex' and wished with all his heart that this woman could somehow change into his mother. As he listened to the story, his heart broke for his mother. It wasn't the same. It would never be the same. He would do anything to see her again! He would die to see her again. He weakly pulled up his hand and wiped away tears he hadn't even noticed were falling.

Moments later, overwhelming exhaustion swept him and his eyes closed quickly. Just as Proust had written. He was already asleep.

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 **PS:::**

The concept for the last scene in this chapter was inspired by the episode Revelations in Season 2 of Criminal Minds, when Reid remembered his mother reading to him as a child from Marcel Proust's novel 'Swann's Way'.


	14. Awake

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 **AUTORS NOTE:** Hello readers! I hope you enjoy this chapter. I worked with it quite a lot. Please review and keep me updated on how you think the story is going so far. Thanks for the support!

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 **WARNINGS:: Mentions of child abuse, suicide and death. Language.**

Chapter 14: Awake

Spencer sleepily blinked his eyes open. The early morning sun shone dimly through the side window. The woman, Alex, was sound asleep in the chair near his bed. The book she had been reading lay resting in her lap. Even in her sleep she looked tired and worn. It reminded him of how his mother sometimes looked. As if no amount of sleep could make her feel rested.

Spencer looked to the beeping machine on the other side of the bed. His oxygen level was on the low side, but otherwise his vitals looked good. He wondered how. There were two bags slowly dripping through his IV and into his bloodstream. He wasn't sure what they were, but he didn't really care.

He sensed movement on the other side of the room and saw Riley disconnect his IV and climb out of his bed. He eased his way past the sleeping woman and sat on his bedside with a sad smile on his face.

"Hey Hush." Riley whispered.

Spencer reached out his hand in response and Riley happily held it.

After a moment, Spencer pointed to Alex and signed, 'Social worker?'

Riley shook his head and signed back, 'FBI. They found us in the cemetery.'

Spencer looked down at their joined hands with teary eyes. 'Why are we still alive? It's not fair.'

Riley looked to the sleeping woman, and just to be sure they didn't wake her he sighed. 'I know you're hurt, and scared' He signed. 'but it's gonna be okay now. Rick is dead and Wanda's in jail. You're safe now.' He smiled.

'For how long?' Spencer replied frustrated. 'Someone new will hurt me as soon as I'm released from the hospital. It doesn't ever matter.' Riley shook his head. 'No. They promised we won't go back into the system.' Spencer rolled his eyes. 'You can't be that stupid.' He signed. 'It's the same promise every time. Wanda almost killed me. The next couple probably will.'

The boys were still for a few moments. Riley desperately searched his mind for some way to encourage his friend. Before he had the chance, Spencer signed again. 'Where's Zachary?'

Riley blinked and looked down for second. 'Dead.' He signed, making eye contact with Spencer. Spencer stared for a moment. Then he nodded and signed, 'He's lucky. I wish I was dead too. Soon enough I will be.'

Blake watched the boys sadly. They hadn't noticed her waking up. She watched them sign back and forth briefly before sitting up straight and interrupting.

"It's nice to see you awake Spencer." She said.

The boys looked to her and Spencer visibly tensed. "It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just here to help.", she smiled as she signed and spoke. "Riley has been very worried about you. You gave us quite a stare the other day." Spencer just stared at her and said nothing, not maintaining eye contact.

Blake decided to leave him be for the time being, but she knew his last words couldn't be ignored. She needed to make sure that Spencer wasn't planning on hurting himself.

"How are you feeling Riley?" she asked.

"I'm fine thank you." He answered.

"That's good to hear." She smiled. "You're being released from the hospital today, but you can stay with Spencer as long as you want."

"I know. Ms. Garcia told me yesterday." He looked worriedly to Spencer. "I won't leave you, Spence. I promise."

Spencer teared up again, and swallowed hard. He shook his head lightly as if trying to rid himself of his emotions. 'You won't have a choice.' He looked up at Riley, appearing more broken than ever.

Riley leaned down and touched his shoulder. Spencer winced when he made gentle contact with an especially tender bruise, and tears broke free down his face. Spencer closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before clutching his chest and signing, 'It hurts.' Riley and Blake both knew he wasn't referring to the physical pain he no doubt felt in his chest, but the emotional pain in his heart.

'It's never going to stop.' Spencer signed with a sob.

Riley had enough of seeing Spencer in pain. He stood and carefully helped his little brother to move over some. Then he climbed onto his hospital bed with him and put an arm behind his head. Spencer immediately leaned into his friend and kept his eyes closed as he cried.

Riley whispered reassurances that Blake couldn't quite hear and before they knew it, Spencer had exhausted himself and with the last few crying hiccups escaping his lips, he fell asleep.

They sat quietly for a short time, until Riley looked down at Spencer's fragile form and bruised face, inspecting him with angry eyes. He could never understand what he'd been through. And he knew he could never fix it either. So what was there to do?

"You take good care of him." Blake said. "I know you don't like to see him hurt."

"He's my little brother. And my best friend." Riley replied. "I would do anything to protect him from hurting."

Blake gave a gentle smile at that. "It shows. I know he appreciates it."

Riley was quiet and the anger and sadness he felt showed on his face. "He wants to die." He said quietly. "I can understand why, but I can't let him go. I let everyone else go... but not him. He can't die."

"He wont." Blake said. "We can help you both. Just give it time."

Riley nodded his head and closed his eyes for a moment. He spoke again once the swarm of emotions he was feeling had passed.

He opened his eyes and gave Blake an ironic smile. "He called me selfish once." He said. Blake tilted her head up, showing that he had her attention. "He said, it was selfish of me to ask him not to kill himself when I was planning on doing the same thing." He shook his head and continued, "He acted like we were going on vacation and leaving him at home. Alone. But I guess we all had lives that made death seem desirable."

"Do you still think so?" Blake asked.

Riley paused. Finally he shook his head slowly and looked to her. "I wanna live.", a tear fell down his face. "I want my dad to be proud of me for not giving up. I wanna be strong."

Blake smiled widely and reached on to grab Riley's hand. "You are strong. And Spencer is too. He'll follow you and you'll see. You have the hope of a beautiful future ahead of you. You just need someone to show you the way."

"Like who?" he asked. "No one wants a teenager. Especially not one that's been abused. I'm going to get emancipated, like Agent Matthews did." Blake looked slightly surprised at that. "I can take care of myself. And I can take care of Spencer too." Blake opened her mouth to speak but Riley cut her off and went on. "We won't go back to that group home.", he said sternly. "and I won't let another pervert hurt him." His eyes were dark and pained, but most of all determined.

Their conversation was cut short by a quick tap on the door, followed by it opening. A nurse came in with a blissful grin and walked over to Riley. "Ready to get into something more comfortable?"

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Three hours later, the boys had been moved into a single patient room and Riley was finally dressed in regular clothes again. He had been discharged from patient care shortly after helping Spencer get back to sleep.

Agent Rossi had come by to say hello, and Blake had gone to join him for lunch. Riley and Spencer had just finished eating their lunches and were now sitting across from one another on Spencer's bed. They were playing a game of chess that Rossi had brought to them, while Spencer finished off a cup of orange Jell-O.

'Check.' Spencer signed, still not ready to speak.

Spencer leaned back in bed as Riley contemplated his next move.

"You know, I wanted to talk to you about something important." Riley said.

Spencer looked up and listened with curious eyes.

"I'm going to get emancipated." Riley went on. "and I'm taking you with me."

'They'll never allow that.' Spencer signed.

"They won't have a choice." Riley urged. "We can run away. I'll keep you safe. We can win at poker and take off. They won't even be able to find us."

Spencer set his empty Jell-O cup on the table and thought silently. 'You're serious?' he asked.

Riley nodded. "I know you don't want to live. I can understand why, but I think we survived for a reason. Now we have a chance to start over. Maybe we can start real lives."

Spencer looked around the room, searching for threats or eavesdroppers. Finding none he whispered, "I wasnt suppored to wake up... I'd like to believe what you say.." He looked down to his lap. "but I can't. Every time I close my eyes there's another nightmare waiting for me. Every painful memory I have races through my mind every day. I can't live like this. I'll go crazy." He shook his head and his eyes swelled with tears.

Spencer thought of his mother. How she had gone crazy. How she had tried to kill him, and succeeded in killing herself. He wished he could go back in time to that night and change what he did. He should have just let them die. Then he never would have had to hurt this way.

Riley felt horrible for him. For both of them. "I can help you. You need time to heal Spence. You have to give yourself that chance. You've been from home to home so quickly that you never got a chance to recover. But now you can. You'll never be in trouble for reading, or being smarter than everyone else. You won't have to be afraid to speak or get in trouble for anything. You'll never be locked up or abused, not ever again! I promise I can protect you! It's not time to stop living. It's time to start."

Tears fell down Spencer's face and he nodded his head slowly.

"Okay." He whispered.

Riley smiled. "Okay." He said back. "Once you're better, we can get out of here. And we'll never have to come back. I promise."


	15. Keep Moving Forward

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 **AUTORS NOTE:**

Hello readers! I'm so sorry for the delay! Things have been pretty crazy lately. It's so sweet that some of you checked on me! Thanks for your concern I just moved into an apartment on my own for the first time! And then I had to wait to be reconnected to the Internet, and then my laptop froze on me! Ughhh! I had to write the chapter all over again!

Anyway, things are finally settling down and I'm getting back on schedule. I'm planning on updating once a week again so please bare with me! Thanks so much for your patience and support. This next chapter starts right where the last one left off, so you may need to go back and see the last thing that happened. I know its been a while…. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the next part of my tragic tale! ;-)

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Chapter 15: Keep Moving Forward

Blake and Rossi sat at the table in the cafeteria, and Rossi noticed that Blake had not started eating. "You're thinking about leaving aren't you?" he asked. Blake looked at him in silence.

"Come on Blake. It's me." He smiled. "We've talked about this before if you'll remember."

Blake sighed and leaned forward. "Sometimes I wonder why I ever came back to field work. I started teaching for a reasons and now.. I don't know. I never should have left it."

Rossi waited patiently for her to continue.

"My husband wants me to go back to teaching. I'd see him a lot more if I did. And maybe then, I could help these boys."

Rossi raised an eyebrow. "You're attached to them aren't you?"

She smiled and nodded. "Between you and me, I think Matthews wants to foster them."

"Really?" Rossi asked. "What makes you say that?"

"I can tell." She answered. "I've actually fostered two teens before. A brother and sister that I came across in my old job. They stayed with my husband and I for three years and now lead happy lives. I'm more than qualified to do it again." She paused. "I even talked to my husband about it. There are so many kids with nowhere to go. I'd be happy to help any a can."

"I would miss working with you, but if this is what you really want, I think it's a great idea." Rossi said with a grin. "You've always had good judgment, and family life is the best life one could lead. I wish I had learned that sooner." He sighed. "Anyway, any kid would be lucky to have you care for them."

"Thank you. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens." Blake smiled and finally took a bite of her sandwich.

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Riley was relieved to hear Spencer speaking again. At least for now. He was so happy when Spencer agreed to fight for his life. He knew it wouldn't be easy to move past this, but he was sure that it was worth another try. His father had always told him, 'Keep moving forward, and nothing behind you will be able to catch up.' That's what Riley made up his mind to do.

The boys talked for a while and played another round of chess. Then they were suddenly interrupted by a knock at the door. A woman walked into the room with a tall strong looking man following behind her. She wore a dark blue suit and carried two files in her hands. Riley's heart sunk, and his stomach flipped.

He looked worriedly at Spencer, whose eyes were wide with recognition and already shining bright with unshed tears. It was Ms. Adams, and the man undoubtedly was her escort.

They had met Ms. Adams a small handful of times in the group home they had gone through so frequently. She was a nice enough person, but she took her job very seriously, and she never came with good news. She only ever showed up to place them in new homes. Fresh hells.

"Hello boys." she greeted with a kind smile.

Neither of the boys spoke, but Spencer reached out and took Riley's hand in a tight grip. He looked down at his lap and refused to look up again. Riley accepted Spencer's hand and looked boldly between the man and woman for an explanation.

After a moment, Ms. Adams spoke again. "Riley, now that you've been discharged, it's time for you to go home. Mr. Lexan will take you back to the group home until you're placed with a new family. Spencer, you'll be re-placed once you're released from the hospital." Spencer cried loudly at her words and covered his face with his hands.

Riley stood up so quickly that the chair he was sitting on fell to the floor. "No!" his face scrunched up in anger and tears pricked the corners of his eyes. Ms. Adams looked at him in shock and moved forward to calm him. "No! Stay away from me! We're not going back there! We're never going back!"

Ms. Adams sighed sadly and said, "I'm so sorry sweetie. I know how hard this must be for you both, but my hands are tied. You don't have any choice. I can't leave you to care for yourself."

"Yes you can! I'm going to get emancipated. I can take care of myself and I can keep Spencer safe too. Just leave us alone!" Riley's voice cracked.

"You're to young Riley. And you can't take care of Spencer. By the time you would qualify to be his legal guardian, even temporarily, he would already be eighteen and it wouldn't matter. I'm sorry but you're only making this harder on yourselves. It's time to say your goodbyes so we can get this over with."

Riley shook his head. Spencer uncovered his face and let out a heavy sigh. Tears still flowed freely down his face when he looked to Riley and signed, 'I told you they wouldn't allow it.' He shook his head and closed his eyes tightly, fighting for his emotions not to swallow him whole.

Riley thought about what Zachary would do and what he had already done for them. He quickly made his decision and looked to the adults with a sad but calm expression. "Can we have a few minutes alone? Please?" he asked as a tear fell down his face.

Ms. Adams nodded and followed the man out of the room, door clicking shut behind them.

Wasting no time, Riley pulled a lever on the side of Spencer's hospital bed to let the side rail down. "We're getting out of here." He said as he started to carefully unhook the many wires on his friends body.

Spencer hesitated for a moment but asked no questions. He reached beside him and silenced the machine before any alarms could go off. Then he pulled up the tape from the crook of his elbow and took out his IV. A slow stream of blood leaked from the irritated puncture wound and he dabbed at it with the blanket.

'Where will we go?' Spence signed. "I don't know yet Hush. But we won't go back there. I promise I'll keep you safe. I'm not gonna let anyone else hurt you." Riley answered. "Can you walk?" Spencer nodded, but he wasn't really sure. He moved his legs to hang over the side of the bed and ignored the pains in his body.

Riley noticed that Spencer's oversized hospital gown didn't fully cover him, so he took off his sweatshirt and helped Spencer put it on to cover his backside. He put the bag connected to Spencer's chest tube in one of the pockets and guided him to stand on wobbly legs. Spencer was very weak. Riley knew he wouldn't be able to walk on his own for long, but he also knew that Spencer could hotwire a car.

"All we have to do is get to the elevator. From there we can go down to the lobby and take a car from the garage. Do you think you can make it?" Spencer ran his fingers over his puffy red eyes and nodded his head. He was scared and unsure, but he was ready.

Riley took Spencer's hand and walked slowly to the closed door. He peeked out the window and saw Ms. Adams and Mr. Lexan talking at the other end of the hall. They had their backs to the elevator and no nurses were in sight. "Okay, we have to be fast and quiet. You ready?" Spencer nodded eagerly, and at that Riley opened the door and started towards the elevator just down the hall.

Once they reached the doors, Riley pushed the down button and Spencer looked over his shoulder to see that they hadn't been spotted. The elevator dinged to life and the doors opened.

At that very moment a nurse behind the counter shouted, "Hey!" Ms. Adams looked to where the nurse was pointing to see the boys rushing into the elevator. Her and Mr. Lexan ran toward the elevator as Riley eagerly pushed the close door button. They reached it just in time for the elevator doors to close in their faces.

Ms. Adams hit the down button several times in hopes that the same elevator would open again, but it didn't. "Damn it!" she shouted. A few moments later the next elevator opened and she ran in with Mr. Lexan on her heels.

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Rossi and Blake finished eating lunch when they saw a small group of people walking toward them. Morgan was in front of the group and Garcia and Matthews were walking slowly and chatting quietly with shy smiles behind him.

"Looks a lot like those two are falling in love." Blake smiled widely. "Falling?" Rossi asked with raised eyebrows. "Looks to me like the falling is over. Look at that mush." As Morgan approached he said, "I'm with Rossi on this one. The falling is over. I've never seen Garcia like this before." He smiled. "It's a good thing Matthews is such a good guy. He knows I'll kick his ass if he falls outta line."

"I have no doubts about that." Rossi said, and Blake just laughed.

"How are the boys?" Morgan asked as the lovebirds approached his side. "They're doing okay considering everything they've been through." Blake answered. "They're both very emotional and Riley would do anything to protect Spencer." "I hope that's a good thing." Matthews said.

"Well why don't you all go up and see them and I'll head back to the hotel and meet up with Hotch and JJ." Rossi said. "We still have some things we need to figure out before we head home."

"We also need to get these boys into proper permanent homes." Matthews said. " I think I have a plan for that but I'll have to pull some strings." He glanced at Garcia and she gave him a smile.

"Okay well I guess we should get going then." Blake said as she walked past the group. They all said their goodbyes to Rossi and headed out of the cafeteria and down the hall towards the elevators.

They were all startled when the heard a loud yelp down the hall. Matthews was the first to speed up in search for the sound. He ran around the corner with Morgan and the girls just behind him.

To his surprise, he saw Spencer on his knees with a woman's arms tightly around him, preventing him from moving. He cried and grunted in frustration trying with all his might to get away from the woman holding him. Tears were rolling like waves down his face and he reached desperately out in front of him… toward Riley.

"No! No!" Riley was screaming and kicking his legs wildly. A tall man with broad shoulders had him around the waist and was pulling him away from Spencer. He clawed at the man's arms, begging for release. Riley's feet were barely able to touch the ground.

The boys reached out as far as they could and grabbed hold of each other, hanging on for dear life. The adults continued trying to pull them apart and Matthews had seen more than enough.

"Hey!" Matthews shouted. "Stop! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Blake and Garcia rushed past him and shooed the woman away from Spencer. Blake tried to soothe the boy but he repeatedly pushed her away and moaned in distress.

Matthews quickly approached the man and pried his arms from around Riley. The second the boy was free, he reached down and snatched Matthews' gun from his belt and pushed him away. Everyone froze and took a step back. Matthews scolded himself for being so foolish. If this ended badly, he would never forgive himself.

"Hey. Take it easy Riley." Matthews said in a gentle tone. He held his hands halfway up in an easy manner.

"Stay back! Just leave us alone!" Riley cried. "Please.." He stepped next to Spencer who eagerly grabbed hold of his leg and let out a deep breath. Riley pointed the gun back and forth between the agents and social workers. His eyes were wide and terrified. He understood exactly how desperate Zachary felt when he killed Rick Covey.

He looked down at Spencer's sobbing form and felt so much regret for giving him hope, only to have it snatched away less than an hour later. There really was only one way out of this. He spoke to Spencer in a whisper.

"Do you trust me?" he asked. Spencer looked up and nodded. "Close your eyes Hush.." he said softly, and he moved the gun to face down toward Spencer, who's eyes were now squeezed shut.

"Stop!" There were shouts overwhelming his senses, but one sentence stood out to Riley. "Please don't hurt him!" He looked about to see who said it. He noticed every fearful expression and saw that agent Morgan had his gun pointed at him. Finally his eyes rested on Alex Blake. He laughed ironically and looked at her in shock.

Tears fell from his eyes as he looked at the adults. "Hurt him?! He's already hurt! We can't take any more.. can't you see that?!" he asked. His breathing was labored and the pain was clear in his voice. "You think you understand but you don't! You don't know anything… You don't even care!" he shook his head and waved the gun around as he cried. He had never felt so out of control.

Matthews was the closest. He took a cautious step forward, closing up the short distance between himself and the boys. "I do.", he said. Riley just stared. "I know what it's like." Matthews explained. "I was in foster care for a long time, remember? I know how bad it can be." Spencer looked up at Matthews with curiosity.

"First they tell you to put all your belongings in a trash bag. It's like they're telling you that everything precious to you is just garbage." Matthews went on. "They make you start over, again and again. A new house with new people to hurt you, and a new school where you don't know what to expect. You see the other kids leaving school with their friends, or getting picked up by parents, and you feel alone."

Riley let out a sob.

"You're not alone Riley." Matthews said. "You and Spencer have each other. And you have me. I can take care of you, if you let me." Riley looked surprised, and Spencer peered at Matthews, looking for signs of deceit. "What do you mean?" Riley asked.

"I mean that you'll be safe. I promise you, you'll never go back into the system again." Matthews said. Riley shook his head. "You can't promise that."

"Yes we can sweetie." Garcia said. "I was up working all last night." She said with a smile. "I promise we will take care of you. You won't have to be apart."

"Just put down the gun Riley. You don't want to hurt anyone, and you've come too far to end it now."

Riley seemed to be considering it. He knew a gun wouldn't help them to run away. It could only kill them. He never wanted to hurt Spencer. He didn't know what he was thinking. He wanted to trust them. But he couldn't be sure. Spencer looked up at him and waited for him to make his decision.

"I'll make you a deal, okay?" Matthews proposed. "You give me back the gun, and we'll go back upstairs and figure this out. You won't have to leave Spencer's side for a second. I promise, you will stay together."

The boys exchanged glances and after a moments hesitation, Riley handed over the gun and dropped to his knees, holding Spencer close.

Matthews handed his gun to Morgan, who was just putting his own gun away.

Morgan moved to usher onlookers away from the scene and explain the situation to security. Blake spoke to Ms. Adams and Mr. Lexan in a low tone, and guided them away from the boys to speak in private.

That left Matthews and Garcia coaxing the boys into the elevator and back to Spencer hospital room.

They had a lot of explaining to do, and a lot of work ahead of them. But all of that could wait. What mattered now was making these boys feel safe. And that's what they intended to do.

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A while later, Garcia and JJ sat with the boys in the hospital room while the rest of the team worked on fixing the current situation.

Two social workers had come to join Ms. Adams and Mr. Lexan, and demanded that Riley be sent to a juvenile detention center for his actions. Hotch, Rossi, Matthews and Blake were at war with them.

The conversation had turned around many times in the last two hours, and Hotch had had enough of it.

"One of my agents has gone to retrieve Riley and Spencer's case files for you to review. There are several charges being placed on their abusers and I don't see it safe for them to go back into the system at this time. As of now they are under federal protection and they are to be released in our custody until each of these criminals are charged, and put away. Any further questions you have can be written to the Bureau." Hotch glared at each social worker, as if daring them to question him.

As if on cue, Morgan waked into the room with a heavy set of files.

Matthews took his opportunity to speak. "While you're all reviewing their files I want you to keep in mind that if Rick Covey were still alive, he would be facing countless charges of child rape and human trafficking. Spencer was being sold out in his last home and Riley spent most of the past 6 years in a group home fighting for scraps. If you all showed some compassion and did your jobs properly we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place." He exited the door without another word, and Morgan followed behind him.

"Hey kid." Morgan said as he grabbed Matthews shoulder. Matthews flinched violently before calming down and Morgan gave an apologetic look. "Sorry.. I just.." Matthews tried to speak.

"It's okay, you don't have to explain." Morgan said. "It's a rough case and it really hits home for you right?" Matthews nodded. "I just want to help them." He said. Morgan smiled. "Of course you do. And now you can. We get to take them away from here." He smiled.

"For how long?" Matthews replied. "This is just another temporary fix. They need a permanent placement."

"One thing at a time." Morgan said. "They're safe for now, and by the time this is all over we will find a permanent home for them."

"I think I already have." Matthews said, and Morgan quirked an eyebrow. "I think… I want to adopt them."


	16. Promises

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 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Hey there people! Sorry for the long wait. I'm back at it slowly but surely. Thanks so much for your patience and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

Please read and review! Seriously! I really want to know what you think! Happy reading :)

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Chapter 16: Promises

Garcia and JJ sat with the boys and tried to get Riley to talk.

Spencer had fallen into a panic on the way upstairs and was now in a peaceful medically induced sleep, with Riley sitting on the bed by his side.

"I promised." Riley said in a low whisper.

JJ and Garcia could hardly make out what he said. They looked at one another in confusion.

"What?" Garcia asked.

"I promised I would never leave him." Riley answered. "I'm supposed to keep him safe. I can't let anyone hurt him again." He paused to pull the covers over Spencer's lap. "I convinced him to trust me and let me help him," Tears finally fell down Riley's face and he looked to them with sad eyes. "but they're gonna tear us apart again."

He looked back to Spencer. "I'm so sorry." He whispered. "I wish we had just died in that graveyard." He closed his eyes, and in seconds, he too was asleep.

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Morgan and Matthews went to a quiet waiting room and talked for a long while.

At first, Morgan thought Matthews was just being emotional about the case. That maybe once he came to his senses he would have a change of heart, and see that adopting the boys wasn't the best option. But after what seemed like hours of talking, Morgan realized how serious he was.

Matthews was determined. He had already teamed up with Garcia, and together they had come up with a solution to take care of the boys, at least temporarily. Now that Riley and Spencer were under the Bureau's temporary protection, it would be much easier to watch out for them. They had plenty of time to come up with a permanent solution, once the child abuse cases were officially closed.

Morgan was worried about getting too attached to these kids. But after some convincing, he was on board. He resolved to keep his distance, while still being ready to help. Between them and the rest of the team, he knew they could make something work.

Riley and Spencer deserved their best efforts.

Just as their discussion ended, Blake came and stood in the doorway with an encouraging smile. She was carrying a tray of coffees in one arm and a large brown paper bag in the other.

"Oooh! Got some sugar for me pretty lady?" Morgan asked with a grin.

Blake quirked an eyebrow. "Now, don't go making Garcia jealous." She replied.

Morgan sighed and threw a glance at Matthews. "Well seeing as my baby girl has a handsome new boyfriend, it seems I'll have to direct my attention elsewhere."

Matthews frowned and looked down, trying to hide the flush in his cheeks. "Maybe concentrate on women that aren't married or part of your team." He suggested as he stood.

Morgan tried to respond but Blake cut in and put an end to their playful banter. "Hotch and Rossi are meeting us here shortly, as well as the rest of your team." She directed at Matthews. "We need to discuss how to proceed as a double team. Would you mind going to get Garcia and JJ?" she asked.

"Of course." Matthews said, as he made to leave.

"Would he mind…" Morgan mumbled, and Blake gave him a warning look, to which he waved a hand in surrender.

Now, Matthews walked down the still hallways with tired eyes. When he reached the boy's room, he greeted the security guard stationed outside it before entering.

He found Garcia and JJ talking quietly in the corner. The boys were in Spencer's small hospital bed together. Spencer was leaning into Riley's side, and his hands were clinging tightly to his sweatshirt even in sleep. Riley had his arms protectively around the smaller boy and he wore a slight frown on his face. No doubt the days events had exhausted them both.

Garcia and JJ rose at his arrival and stepped outside to follow him to meet with the others.

Everyone settled into the small waiting room with their coffees and pastries, and discussed their next plan of action.

The SVU team had found most of the abusive parents in question and were already set to charge them. It wasn't going to be easy work for most of them, because the victims were no longer alive to testify.

Fortunately Ethan Scott had several complaints against his guardians and Alexis Pace kept a detailed journal of everything she had gone through. They also discovered many of Ethan's emails contained messages from Brooklyn about her abuse. Agent Hotchner was ready to put his experience in law to good use in pushing this evidence to the table.

They were still looking for one of Zachary's past guardians, and with help from Garcia they were trying to identify the two other men in the photographs with young Spencer. Rick Covey left no names or traces of where the other men had come from, and so far Wanda Covey wasn't talking.

Together they agreed that Morgan and detective Danny Brown of the SVU would go and speak with Wanda Covey again the next day.

"How are the boys doing?" Hotch asked.

Garcia looked to him sadly. "Better? I guess… They're both asleep. A nurse gave Spencer something to help settle him down."

"Riley hasn't been more than an inch away from him since they got upstairs." JJ added.

"That's to be expected." Rossi stated. "They've been through so much together. And from what I've heard Riley would rather kill Spencer himself than be apart from him."

"There's more to it than that sir." Garcia said, and everyone's attention turned to her and JJ.

"Riley convinced Spencer not to give up on life. To give it one more try." JJ explained. "He did so by promising to protect him and take care of him." "And he promised to never leave him." Garcia cut in.

"So, when social services came to pick him up, he panicked." Danny concluded.

"He tries to run with Spencer so he won't have to break his promise, but they get caught and he feels trapped." Morgan says.

"He was desperate." Matthews said, with a sigh. "Rather than break his promise and leave Spencer alone again, he resolved to end it before either of them could be hurt again. He knows everything about Spencer's history and he'd rather they both die, than suffer through that level of abuse again." He ran a hand through his hair and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I get it… I would have done the same thing in that situation.." he mumbled.

Blake gave him a sympathetic smile. "He wants to do what you did. He believes he can take care of himself and Spencer if he gets emancipated."

Matthews lowered his hands and looked to her sadly. "It doesn't work that way Blake. It's not that easy. Even if he could manage to get emancipated he could never take Spencer with him. He's a ward of the state. It would be kidnapping so he'd end up in juvie or at least have a permanent mark on his record."

Rossi furrowed his eyebrows. "Sounds like you speak from experience."

Garcia looked over and touched his arm, smiling gently. She already knew this story, and understood that he needed support when telling it again.

Matthews looked briefly to his colleagues and saw that they too offered support. They had been working together for a long time and there were no secrets between them.

Matthews sat back in his chair and nodded his head. "I do." He said simply. "I was in foster care from age ten until I got emancipated at sixteen. I was lucky to get out, but then I got into some trouble because I tried to take anther kid with me. Long story short I got sent to juvie for assault when his foster dad came and tried to take him." He shook his head.

Rossi's demeanor suddenly changed, and Matthews gave him a soft smile. Rossi gave the young man a knowing look, smiled and nodded for him to continue.

The others noticed the silent exchange, but let it go for now.

"Riley can't take care of Spencer." Matthews said firmly. "It's too big a responsibility. It will end in a disaster that will always weigh on his conscience."

Both teams were silent, until Hotch spoke up. "Then we take care of both of them." He said. "I know you have a plan for Riley and Spencer, so go through with it and we'll support you. Meanwhile, the rest of us will serve some justice to the bastards that hurt these kids."

Everyone nodded and agreed to start fresh in the morning. Rossi rose from his seat and gave Matthews a firm squeeze on the shoulder and whispered something in Italian, to which Matthews smiled and nodded. They all said their goodbyes, and set off to their waiting hotel beds. All except Morgan, Matthews and Garcia.

Morgan knew the two wanted to speak alone, but there was something he wanted to know. "How'd you managed to get a job like this with a mark like that on your record?" he asked Matthews.

Matthews wasn't at all surprised by the question. "Roary, the kid I took with me" he paused and Morgan nodded. "he was thirteen at the time and I knew there was no stopping him from running away again. I'd rather he be with me than alone on the streets, so we took off. We went and stayed with my buddy Joe who had his own place. A couple days later, there was a knock at the door and thinking nothing of it, Joe goes to answer it."

He was silent for a few moments, as if remembering something. "It was Roary's foster dad. He punched Joe out and just barged in, going after Roary. I was trying to fight him off, but he pushed Roary back and he fell over the coffee table and hit his head. That's it he just… fell." Morgan froze at Matthews story, and couldn't help but notice the lack of surprise on Garcia face. It was clear she had already heard the story in full detail.

Matthews went on. "It was so fast. I didn't even know what happened. When Roary fell back, everything went hazy. I didn't stop punching the guy until Joe pulled me off of him. He called the cops and… I went to Roary… but somehow I already knew he was dead." His eyes welled with tears but he pushed them back, and eyes blazing with anger took their place.

Matthews rose from his seat and started pacing. "It was so stupid. He just fell! After everything we'd been through together to just die out of nowhere. Just like that?! It's just… it's crazy…" he trailed off and Garcia made to move but Morgan stopped her.

"You know what the worst part is?" Matthews asked with anger laced in his voice. "That son of a bitch lied to the cops and said that I attacked him. And that I was the one who pushed Roary away. And they believed him! I spent a night in jail and a week in juvie getting my ass kicked before they even gave my case a second look. If it hadn't been for Joe's testimony I could've been tried for killing him!"

Garcia was trying with all her might to hold back tears of empathy. But Morgan knew he need to get this out in the open. "So someone believed you right?" Morgan asked.

Matthews nodded fiercely. "Yeah this guy, he took my case and my record was wiped clean. He took me under his wing, mentored me and helped me get through college and eventually into my field." Matthews sat back down, across from them now. "I was scared for a long time. I thought maybe, he wanted, something from me. But through the years I discovered that he genuinely wanted to help me. He saved my life. He's been like a father to me."

"Sounds like a great guy." Morgan said.

Matthews smiled. "Yeah he is." He looked up and met Morgan's eyes. "You've worked with him before." Morgan looked confused. "His name is Jason Gideon."

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 **AUTHOR'S NOTE part 2:**

Just a reminder that this is an AU story. So a lot of things will be very different! Please Review!


	17. Heat

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 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Hello again readers! I'm so sorry for yet another long wait. I tried to make this chapter a bit longer for you all. How do you like it so far? Please let me know what you think by reviewing!

Much love to all! Happy reading :)

PS:: Who else ugly cried during A Beautiful Disaster? :'-(

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Chapter 17: Heat

Their was a knock at Rossi's hotel room door the next morning. He had hoped to feel more rested before getting back to work, but his mind had been restless through the night.

Rossi opened the door and stepped out to see Hotch. They nodded "good morning" to each other as Rossi closed the door behind him.

It was obvious that Hotch noticed Rossi's behavior the night before, and suspected that he knew something the others didn't.

"How about we chat over breakfast?" Rossi asked.

Hotch nodded curiously and waited to hear what their discussion was to be about.

"There's an old case I think you'd be interested in hearing about. One I worked with our old friend Jason Gideon." Rossi continued as he reached out to call for the elevator.

"I take it this has some connection to our new friend James Matthews." Hotch replied. A statement, not a question.

Rossi smiled as they stepped into the elevator. "Right you are Aaron." The elevator doors shut. "Right you are."

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Garcia and Blake walked out of the hot sun and entered the cool hospital with movies, books and games in hand. Garcia also had a large tin full of cookies for the boys to enjoy. They wanted the boys to get their minds off of their situation and have a calm and comfortable day. Within moments of walking into the hospital room, they saw that this day wouldn't be as calm as they had hoped.

Riley stood next to Spencer's bed, his face tired and expressionless. On the opposite side of the bed was a female nurse that they both recognized from the day before. Her loose hair fell around her face and her busy hands were checking over the boy in the bed.

Spencer's breathing was shallow and quick, and his face was pale and sweaty.

Garcia rushed to set her things down as Blake asked, "What happened?" in a concerned voice.

The nurse turned to them and answered, "He's running a high fever. We're waiting for some blood work to come back so the doctor can decide what she wants to do for him. For now we've changed his antibiotics and given him something to bring the fever down."

"Will he be okay?" Garcia asked.

"I believe so." The nurse nodded. "Considering all he's been through and the surgeries he's had, it's no surprise that his body is reacting this way. I'll have Dr. Dove come speak with you as soon as possible."

The nurse placed a fresh cool towel on Spencer's forehead, and adjusted the icepacks under his armpits. Then she walked towards the door and stopped just before leaving. "There are fresh towels in this cabinet here.", she pointed. "Please press the call button if you need anything or you have any questions or concerns." She said with a smile. "I'll be back check on him when I make my rounds."

Blake thanked the woman and walked over to feel Spencer's face with the back of her hand. Meanwhile, Garcia went to stand beside Riley. "Hey. You okay?" She asked softly. Riley didn't respond. He didn't even move. "He's gonna be alright sweetie. You'll see." At that Riley looked at Garcia's smiling face and his eyes were empty. She could see the hopelessness in his eyes, and she wondered what he was thinking.

Saying nothing, he simply turned away from the bed and stepped back to the cot a few feet away. This was where he had tossed and turned restlessly the night before. He sat quietly for a moment, and then laid down and closed his eyes. He let his exhaustion wash over him, and within minutes, Riley fell into a quiet sleep.

Garcia brought the blanket up over Riley, and Blake readjusted the towel on Spencer's head. He sighed and his eyes fluttered for a moment, but didn't open.

Garcia and Blake looked worriedly at one another. They knew they were all in for a long day.

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Morgan and Brown walked through the narrow halls of the jail to see Wanda Covey. They were both determined and confident that they could get the answers they needed from her.

As they entered the interrogation room, they found Wanda sitting at a table with her hands cuffed underneath. She glared at them with tired red eyes.

Morgan took a seat in the chair across the table, and Brown crossed his arms and stood, staring the horrible woman down.

"You know why we're here." Morgan said simply, getting straight to the point.

Wanda grinned wickedly saying, "How's Spencer? Did you finally arrest that little shit for killing my husband?! " Her eyes were dark and angry.

Morgan took a deep breath to calm himself before addressing her again. "I'm going to make this very clear for you.", he said calmly. "If your sick bastard of a husband were still alive, he'd be in prison for as long as it took for the other inmates to kill him for what he did."

Brown stepped in. "You know what happens to child rapists in prison? It's not pretty, but it is well deserved."

"Your husband got off easy. But you won't." Morgan said. The woman jumped and tugged at her handcuffs.

"Go to hell!" she screamed.

"That's where you'll be going to meet up with your husband if you don't start talking." Brown said firmly.

There was a long pause in the room before Morgan spoke again.

"Here's the deal." He said, pulling out the photos of young Spencer. "You tell us who these other two men are, and who took the pictures. In return, your face won't be plastered all over the news, and the other inmates won't know what you're in for."

Wanda looked furious, and opened her mouth to shout, but Brown interrupted her. "Before you turn it down, you may want to think it through. You physically and emotionally tortured a child for years. Even aiding and covering up the rapes. I'm sure you can imagine how people will react to that."

"There are a lot of messed up people in prison Wanda." Morgan added. "Are you really willing to make your time there even more miserable just to protect your husband's lowlife friends?"

Wanda sighed. She looked genuinely afraid of what would happen to her. But she was afraid of something else too. "They'll kill me if I tell you. That or they'll make me wish I was dead." She paused. "But realistically, what's my life worth now?" tears came to her eyes but she angrily blinked them away.

"They'll be in prison, just like you. There's no way these guys would be able to get to you."

After a few moments, she nodded to the photo furthest to the left and looked Morgan in the eyes. "That bastard's name is Edward Savage." She let out a humorless chuckle. "Ironic isn't it? That's just what he is too… a damn savage.

"What makes him so bad?" Morgan asked, wondering what she could possibly see in this man that was worse than her abusive husband.

Wanda paused, as if she were having a memory. She shook her head, "I haven't thought about it in so long." The men listened and waited for her to go on. "Edward raped me once." She said softly. "Spencer came home from school and saw. He started mumbling and grunting, pushing Edward, trying to get him to leave, but…" she swallowed. "he beat the shit out of that kid. Rick didn't do anything when I told him what happened, but he promised Edward would never touch me again."

"So did it ever happen again?" Morgan asked. Wanda shook her head no, and Morgan's jaw tightened. He already knew the answer, but they needed to hear it from her. "Edward never raped you again because he was too busy raping Spencer. Is that right?" his voice was surprisingly steady.

"Yes. That's when it started. I stayed out of their way and did what I was told." She answered.

"You mean the pictures?" Morgan asked. She nodded. "Yeah.. I took them."

Morgan was silent and Browns blood was boiling. "So Spencer tried to protect you, and you still didn't give a shit about what happened to him as long as you were safe!" Brown shouted. Wanda didn't even flinch. "You just stood by and watched three different men abuse an innocent kid day after day while you photographed it. But who cares, as long as it wasn't you right?"

"I protected myself! That retarded kid didn't even know the difference. It didn't matter what they did to him!" Wanda shouted.

"You think he didn't understand what was happening to him? You think he didn't notice the pain?!" Brown exclaimed. "When he screamed, and cried you think he wasn't suffering?!"

Her posture changed. She was so tense she was almost shaking. But she didn't respond.

Morgan had enough. He just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. "Who's the other guy?" he asked, pointing to the photo in the middle.

"Kurt Peterson." She answered. "Rick met him in school. They'd been friends for years before I met them."

Morgan stood and stepped away from the table. "Spencer deserved so much better." He said. "I hope you don't have to wait too long, to see your husband again."

Brown lead the way out of the room, and the door slammed and echoed through the hallway.

"I need a smoke." Brown said.

Morgan understood that. He had never smoked but he felt like a stiff drink would do him some good at the end of the day. "Go ahead. I'm gonna take a break and call Hotch."

Brown nodded his understanding and walked briskly toward the exit.

Morgan on the other hand, searched for a bathroom.

Once inside, he locked the door and leaned heavily against the sink. He started to feel faint and nauseous. He turned the sink on and splashed cold water on his face and neck. He couldn't let this get to him. He breathed through every flashback in his mind, and closed his eyes, waiting for the feeling of dread to pass.

Finally he regained control of himself, turned off the faucet and dried off.

He hoped Hotch and Matthews were making progress on their plans for the boys. Those kids deserved much better lives. Morgan couldn't help how terrible he felt for Spencer and Riley, and for the kids they hadn't been able to help.

He could deal with his emotions later though. Now they could finally make an arrest on Rick Covey's friends. It was time to call Hotch.

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Riley was still asleep on the cot when the girls heard a moan. They both looked over to Spencer who was moving his arms and turning his head back and forth. The towel fell from his head, so Blake rose to get a fresh one from the drawer. She wet two cloths with cold water and approached the bed to see Spencer mumbling, and clinching at his wrist in a tight grip.

She came closer and tried to make out what he was saying.

"Nooo… please no."

Blake looked back at Garcia, who's eyes were wide.

"Shhhh. It's okay Spencer, you're okay." Blake said softly .

"Mama stop it!" he choked out.

Garcia made her way to the other side of the bed and moved the boys red hand away from his wrist. "No mama… don't...", Spencer groaned. He tried to resist Garcia, but he was weak. When she pulled his hand away, she gapped at the deep jagged scar on his wrist. His other wrist shadowed the same old wound.

Blake sighed, and Garcia blinked the moisture from her eyes. They both new the wounds were caused by Spencer's mother the day she committed suicide, and tried to take her own son's life as well.

Blake gave one of the towels to Garcia and pressed the other to Spencer's forehead. He gasped lightly before sighing in relief.

Garcia used the towel she was given to gently wipe down the boys irritated hands. He had a small series of puffy pink burns on his hands and arms that needed to stay clean and moisturized.

A few moments later, Spencer's eyes slowly peeked open and flicked around the room before stopping to focus on Blake.

At first he looked confused. Then recognition shone through his eyes, and he reached out to touch Blake. She took his hand without hesitation, and a smile graced his lips not a second later. "Mom.." he whispered. Blake and Garcia looked at one another, surprised and sad by his call.

He breathed heavily and his expression changed. "Don't leave me again.", he begged. And he started to cry. "Please… please stay." Blake reached down with her other hand and touched his cheek. She shushed him softly and spoke as gently as she knew how. "Shhh… it's okay Spencer. You're safe." Spencer shook his head.

"Hey." Blake whispered. "You just close your eyes and rest now… everything's going to be fine." The boy seemed unsure, so she added, "I'll be right here when you wake up."

Spencer's eyes were glassy and tired. He weakly gripped her hand a little tighter and nodded his head as much as he could and closed his eyes. It seemed that he was back in a feverish sleep again, before his eyes were even fully closed.

Blake kept Spencer's hand in hers and pressed the call button, asking for fresh ice packs.

Soon a nurse came in with three pouches, which she squeezed tightly and shook when they popped.

The pouches immediately became cold, and one was placed under each Of Spencer's arm pits as the last was situated behind his neck.

The nurse took Spencer's temperature and sighed. "His fever is holding strong. I'm going to set up a cold saline drip for him and see if that helps. The Doctor will be in to speak with you shortly."

A short time later, Rossi came to the room, taking in the boy sleeping on the cot and the one sweating in the bed. "Well this isn't what I expected to see." He said quietly. "Blake and Garcia stepped away near the door to talk.

"How long has he been like this?" Rossi asked.

"All day." Blake answered. "He woke up a few minutes ago, but he's confused. He thought I was his mother." She said sadly.

"He'll get through this.", Rossi sighed. "On a lighter note, the guys went to arrest Rick Covey's buddies. They were both arrested without a problem. We got em."

"So it's over?" Garcia asked.

"Not quite." Blake answered.

They all looked at the resting boys. Riley turned in his sleep and one arm dangled over the side of the cot.

"This wont be over until they're safe." Rossi said.

"We can't just leave them here, but there's not a whole lot we can do." Blake said.

"Well of course we won't leave them!" Garcia fussed. "They still need our help."

"Well for now, Hotch and Matthews managed to get temporary custody of the boys. They're wards of the state now under Matthews' charge. The case has to be reviewed in three months to make sure they're a good match."

"It wouldn't matter." The three agents looked to see that Riley had spoken. He was pushing the blanket off of him and sitting up. He slouched on the cot and crossed his legs before looking up. "We've both had evaluations a hundred times before. They don't care if we're a good match or not. Even if we're covered in bruises, they always just leave us."

The three adults looked on quietly as the boy stood up. He glanced back at his friend before facing them again. "Temporary custody means when you're done with us we'll be separated again. You can't let that happen, you said we'd stay together." It was clear that it took everything in him to keep his voice steady.

Garcia stepped forward a bit. "We won't let that happen sweetie. We already have a plan in place remember? You'll be together and you'll be safe."

Riley let out a sigh of relief and turned to stand near Spencer. He didn't know why he trusted these people, but somehow he knew they weren't lying to him. But that didn't stop him from wondering how they knew they'd be safe. Was James Matthews really a good man? And what about his family and friends? Would they hurt them, just as everyone else had? He felt hopeful, but deep down, Riley was afraid.

Dr. Dove walked in and asked to speak with someone in private. Garcia stayed behind with Riley as Blake and Rossi spoke with the doctor.

"Did you really catch those other guys?" Riley asked, without looking up.

"Yeah, they're really gone." Garcia said, and she put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him into a side hug. "They can't hurt Spencer or anyone else ever again."

Riley felt relived. At least that was something. "Good."

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Both the BAU and the SVU were officially off the case. All arrests had been made, and the rest was up to the courts.

Knowing that the case would be coming to a close, Hotch and Matthews spent most of the day filling out paperwork and pushing past red tape. The young man was serious about taking full responsibility for Riley and Spencer, and Hotch's degree in law was very helpful when it came to custody matters.

At the end of the day, Matthews touched base with his team, and Hotch did the same.

Morgan and detective Brown were headed to the hotel, after bringing in Edward Savage and Kurt Peterson. JJ had been battling social workers all afternoon, and tying up loose ends at the station all evening. Blake had come to help her finish up, and now they too were headed back to the hotel to get some well deserved rest. Rossi updated Hotch on Spencer's condition and Riley's state of mind. He was now on his way to pick Hotch up before heading for the hotel.

When Matthews finished speaking with his team, he thanked Hotch for his help and headed for the hospital to sit with Garcia. That came as no surprise to Hotch or anyone else.

Matthews had to prepare himself for the conversation he was to have with the two teenagers the next day. He wanted so badly to give them a good life. He only hoped they would be willing to give him a chance.

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	18. Author Note

Hello readers! I've just posted the first chapter of my sequel 'Threshold'. Sorry for the long wait. And thank you so much for all of your patience and support with my first story! I hope you enjoyed my work. Now please, go check out part 2!


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